BJP disagrees with Roy’s ‘boycott Kashmir’ tweet

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday expressed its disagreement over Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy’s tweet backing the boycott of “everything Kashmiri” following the Pulwama terror attack and said the party did not agree with his views.
“I don’t agree with his tweet. Matter ends there,” party leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters when asked to comment on Roy’s tweets.
A longtime BJP leader and associated with Hindutva organisations before being appointed governor by the Modi government, Roy had supported a call for boycotting Kashmir, including not travelling to the valley and not purchasing its products, following the Pulwama terror attack last week.
“An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don’t visit Kashmir,don’t go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don’t buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to agree,” Roy had tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Thursday asked President Ram Nath Kovind to sack Roy for “disgracing” his post and violating the “fundamentals of Constitution”.
“Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, in yet another outrageous statement, has endorsed a call for boycott of Kashmir and Kashmiris in the wake of the Pulwama tragedy,” the CPI-M said in a statement.
It underlined that Roy’s comments came at a time when Kashmiris, particularly students, in various parts of the country were being “attacked, tormented and forced to leave”.
“The Governor holds a constitutional office. As the representative of the President of India, he is expected to act as the custodian of the Indian Constitution.
“This is a transgression that is unacceptable. The President of India must immediately sack him,” the party said. (Agencies)