“If the Finance Minister completely goes over the top in Jammu, you have the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti taking a hard line saying that only five percent of the people are really involved in the violence, which has paralysed the Kashmir valley for 44 days, and resulted in the death and misery to both security persons and innocent people”.
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The Congress was officially wary of the meeting between Kashmiri leaders and the Prime Minister.
India and Pakistan have been engaged in a war of words over the statements by Islamabad on the situation in Kashmir which is witnessing unrest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani last month.
“The renewed trust people of the State have time and again reposed in the democratic institutions, offers an opportunity to work through peaceful and reconciliatory means towards addressing all the dimensions of the Kashmir issue in a manner that balances and promotes enduring political and economic stability in the State”, Mehbooba said addressing a gathering at Bhagwati Nagar.
Khajuria told ANI, “The leaders say that the Kashmir unrest in a political problem and can only be solved through dialogue, I cannot understand how this is a political problem”. Modi, during his 75-minute meeting with a delegation of J&K opposition leaders comprising National Conference chief Omar Abdullah, Ghulam Ahmed Mir of Congress and MY Tarigami of CPM, among others, said that “those who lost their lives during recent disturbances were part of us, our nation.whether the lives lost are of our youth, security personnel or police, it distresses us”.
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Tuesday urged the Centre to send an all-party delegation to Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, a delegation led by NC leader Omar Abdullah had called on the Prime Minister and appealed that a political approach needs to be adopted for resolving the present crisis in the Valley and to ensure that the “mistakes” of the past are not repeated. “There has to be a dialogue and we need to find a permanent and lasting solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution”.
Official sources said that after his meeting with the delegation, the Prime Minister appreciated the “constructive suggestions” made by them during the talks and reiterated his government’s commitment to the welfare of people. More importantly, let’s not play politics over Jammu and Kashmir. “We will get ample time to play political games later”, he said. They also submitted a memorandum to the President.
The delegation said, “Continued failure to address the unrest in Kashmir will further deepen the sense of alienation”.
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Rajnath is also likely to meet representatives of various political parties to seek their feedback on the Kashmir situation.
