Jammu, Jan 21 (IANS) The ruling National Conference Friday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to arouse communal passions in Jammu and Kashmir and the decision to disallow the BJP activists to hoist the national flag in Srinagar on the Republic Day was the "right decision in the right direction".

"The BJP is trying to spoil the situation in the Valley which has been brought under control after a lot many efforts," state Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar told reporters here.

Sagar was speaking against the backdrop of the National Conference-Congress coalition government's decision Thursday to "stop the BJP's Rashtriya Ekta Yatra or national unity march", and blamed the BJP for "playing communal politics".

The BJP started its march from Kolkota Jan 12 with an aim to hoist the national flag at the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar Jan 26.

Despite the government decision to "ban" the yatra and not allow any of the marchers into Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP announced that it would go ahead with the yatra and hoist national tricolour in Srinagar even if meant "offering sacrifices".

Separatist group Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front has threatened to launch a counter-march to the Lal Chowk Jan 26 and has challenged the BJP to hoist the flag in the city centre.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah earlier said the BJP was trying to set Kashmir on fire.

Sagar also accused the BJP and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of working in tandem to "arouse communal passions in the Jammu region and the valley".

"They had done it during the Amarnath land row agitation in 2008," he said.