"Situation changed in Kashmir in last few yrs," says BJP's RP Singh

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 8 (ANI): BJP National Spokesperson RP Singh said on Sunday that situation has changed in the poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir, and said today everyone is hoisting the tiranga at their home in the Union Territory.
The BJP leader also recalled how the Omar Abdullah-led government stopped BJP leaders from hoisting the flag at Lal Chowk in 2011.
"In 2006, the Pakistan flag was hoisted in Lal Chowk. In 2008, we decided to hoist the Tiranga in Lal Chowk. The party took out a Tiranga Yatra in 2011. Arun Jaitley, Sushma (Swaraj) Ji, and Anurag Thakur were arrested. They did not allow us to raise the flag. Omar Abdullah government was in power. I raised the flag at Lal Chowk," Singh said while addressing a press conference in Jammu.
"Later, I was beaten for four hours at Munshi Bagh Ram police station, and Kashmir police asked me to raise slogans against India," he recalled. "Today Tiranga is being hoisted at every home in Kashmir."
"The situation has changed in the last few years," he said. "There has been no incident of stone-pelting reported in the last two years."
He also slammed National Conference Vice-president Omar Abdulah over his remarks on the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
"What is Omar Sahab stating? Afzal hum Sharminda hain. He is saying that it was not right to hang Afzal," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting will be done on October 8.
There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs.
The National Conference and the Congress have forged a pre-poll alliance days ahead of the polls. According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors.
These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
In the previous Assembly elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12. (ANI)