ITANAGAR, Aug 20: BJP national general secretary in charge of Northeast region, Ram Madhav, has said there should be no apprehension on the part of the northeastern states on the issue of Article 371.
“Kashmir is a very different situation, with a different history, so it cannot be compared with the special status case of the northeastern states,” Madhav said during a party meeting here on Tuesday.
“There is no reason to touch it (Article 371),” he said.
Informing that the BJP’s membership has crossed 15 crore “and still counting,” Madhav urged the party cadres to “work hard and bring to fruition the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a strong and prosperous India.”
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the BJP’s Northeast general secretary (organisation) Ajay Jamwal, and state BJP president Tapir Gao also attended the meeting.
The party later stated in a press release that it has resolved not to take MLAs of other parties into its fold until the 2024 election. Khandu and Gao both made it clear that there would be no merger of any MLA of any party with the BJP till the next election in the state, it said.
Madhav along with Khandu, Jamwal and Gao also held a ‘special meeting’ with all the BJP candidates who lost in the last election, during which the candidates pledged their support to the government in furthering the developmental activities in the state, the party said.
