Kupwara: BJP workers in Kupwara, led by Javid Qureshi, poured over 50 liters of milk on a photograph of Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday. Qureshi described it as a “small gesture of gratitude for a big decision” after the LG administration announced government jobs for victims of militancy for the first time in 35 years. “Justice was delayed, but finally delivered,” he said, praising the LG administration’s move.
Qureshi, however, is no stranger to such acts. In 2020, he protested against former CM Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks on the national flag by tearing his clothes and pointing to his chest, saying the Tricolor “lives in his heart.”
He warned that if she insulted the flag again, he would send her to Pakistan. Mehbooba had said she would not hoist the Tricolor until Jammu and Kashmir’s own flag was restored. Qureshi later burned her effigy in Handwara with a few supporters, even though senior BJP leaders later said he was not officially with the party.
In July last year, days after BJP Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma called the 1931 martyrs “anti-nationals,” Qureshi said “traitors should not be called martyrs.” He claimed that July 13, observed as Kashmir Martyrs’ Day until it was removed as a holiday, marked the start of militancy and lawlessness, accusing political parties like the National Conference of using the day to push Kashmir into more bloodshed.
The day commemorated 21 Muslim protesters killed by Dogra forces in 1931 outside Srinagar Central Jail while resisting the arrest of Abdul Qadeer. Qureshi rejected the historical narrative, saying the day was more about violence and looting than sacrifice.
Qureshi has also faced many political setbacks. In 2022, the Election Commission of India barred him and 10 others from contesting elections until September 2023 for failing to submit their 2019 Lok Sabha poll expenditure accounts on time. He had contested the 2019 Baramulla Lok Sabha seat as an independent, getting just 3,383 votes across 15 assembly segments, including only 146 from his native Langate.
