BJP president Amit Shah said here on Thursday the stalemate in the formation of a new government in Jammu & Kashmir is poised to end soon as talks are underway. The stalemate was caused by the nature of the mandate, he said.

On the BJP’s stand on Article 370, which grants special status to J&K, he said: “We do not have the requisite numbers to bring about changes.”

Answering a query on the recent controversy over forced conversion and the Ghar Wapsi issue, Shah said the BJP stand is in favour of legislation against forceful conversions.

“But the so-called secular parties have not come forward to support the move. Will we run the country through the media or by rule of law?” he asked, discussing the ongoing debate over conversions. On the black money issue, the BJP chief said the names of 700 people have been handed over to the Supreme Court and Special Investigation Team, and it is for them to disclose the names.

Membership drive

The party has initiated a massive membership enrolment drive that seeks to achieve a target of 10 crore people in the country.

The BJP plans to enrol 35 lakh people in Telangana and strengthen the party presence in a State where the party secured 22 per cent votes in the last elections, said Shah.

Describing the Modi-led NDA government’s achievements, he said it has managed to bring down inflation, which has added about ₹1,500-3,500 to a family per month.

The economy, which was growing at 8.6 per cent when the NDA government handed over the reins to the UPA in 2004, was brought down to 4.6 in 2014. In less then two quarters, the new NDA government has helped it grow to 5.7 per cent again, he said.

Listing out some major achievements of the BJP-headed coalition government at the Centre, Shah said measures taken up by the Centre have brought economic growth on the main agenda. The policy paralysis which plagued the UPA government has been put behind and the global investment community is upbeat on India, he said.

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