BJP plans 300 street plays on Article 370 in Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS) Days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the striking down of Articles 370 and 35A would be the main "poll issue in Maharashtra", the Bharatiya Janata Party's city unit will stage around 300 street plays to create public awareness, party officials said here on Thursday.

Starting from tomorrow (Friday), these street plays will be staged in prominent areas in all the 36 Assembly constituencies in Mumbai, starting with Versova in Andheri west.

The BJP's 80 municipal corporators in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other office-bearers have been entrusted with the responsibility for implementing the project across the country's commercial capital, according to the main organiser of the programme and spokesperson, Niranjan Shetty.

Full rehearsals were conducted during Shah's visit to Mumbai last fortnight which were appreciated by the BJP leaders after which it was decided to take it up all over Mumbai to create an impression among the masses in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Among other things, the street plays will inform the people about the entire gamut of the historical and political events around Articles 370 and 35A of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, and explain why and how the BJP government took the step, its benefits to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and the rest of the country.

Maharashtra goes to the polls in October and the BJP has set its sights on recapturing power, riding on issues like Jammu and Kashmir, the abolition of Triple Talaq, and other achievements in the first 100 days since the NDA 2.0 headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office.