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| Govt won't be cowed down by separatists: PM | | | New Delhi | Aug 27
The Manmohan Singh government will not be cowed down by separatists in the Kashmir Valley and the rights of pilgrims during the annual Amarnath yatra will not be lost sight of while resolving the dispute that has rocked the troubled state for almost two months.
Responding to a letter by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, the PM has written back saying that the government would pursue talks with all concerned parties in the Valley but this would not be at the cost of the Centre's authority. The demands raised by separatists, which are quite unrelated to the Amarnath issue, could not be considered.
In his detailed reply, the PM pointed out that the Centre would not countenance any violation of the order of the J&K High Court laying down use of the land at Baltal for pilgrims or provisions of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Act. The bottomline that the PM sought to draw indicated that the government would respect the use of the land by the
shrine board during the yatra period.
The letter's tenor is non-confrontationist as the PM has sought the cooperation of the BJP in finding a solution to the agitation in Jammu as well as Kashmir. Unlike in the past when exchanges between the government and BJP have been sharp and abrasive, the PM's letter is explanatory as well as conciliatory as he sets out his government's
approach to the flare-up in the state.
The PM has said that "all options" were open in dealing with the situation other than the Centre's immutable position on issues like Amy presence and use of special laws. The resolve expressed in the etter seems to match the firm imposition of curfew in Kashmir and the resolute handling of protesters in both the Valley and Jammu. The entre seems to have realised that allowing separatists too much of a free run was only fuelling the agitation.
This change of stance has replaced the earlier view that armed presence and use of force should be minimal so that the public ire whipped up by the Hurriyat and its fellow travellers like PDP was expended. The hope was that the agitation would "blow out" but the strategy was only partly successful as separatists saw restraint as a sign of weakness and increased their efforts to mobilize the public. |
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