Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra on Friday said the past decade of the BJP's rule in the Union Territory had been a "dark period" and the saffron party's claim that the distance between Delhi and the hearts of people had decreased was "misleading".

"The past decade of BJP rule in J-K has been a dark period in our history. From downgrading our state's status to robbing our people of their rights, the BJP's exploitation has led to soaring unemployment and a surge in terror incidents," said Karra in a statement.

The Congress leader rejected the BJP's claims made during the election rallies and said the saffron party leaders had "no moral authority" to make such assertions.

"The BJP owes the people of J-K an apology for their actions over the past 10 years," he added.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on Thursday that he and his party BJP are working hard towards bridging the distances between the people of Kashmir and Delhi and bringing the hearts closer, Karra said the claims were rhetoric.

"There should be no 'majboori' (compulsion), then 'doori' (distance) will decrease. However, if you have electoral 'majboori', if you have political 'majboori', then claims of decreasing 'Dilli se dil ki Doori' are just rhetoric," said Karra.

"The people have definitely opted for 'BJP se doori' in this election. The BJP's claim that the distance between Delhi and Kashmiri hearts has decreased is misleading," he added.

Karra said the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance was the voice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, adding they had shown their support in the first phase of polling on Wednesday.

"The people will continue to vote for the alliance in the upcoming two phases, paving the way for a people's government under the alliance banner on October 8," he added.

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