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| Disruptive agitation in Valley not acceptable: Home Minister | | Chidambram says no (for now) to withdrawal of troops, revocation of AFSPA, dialogue with separatist leaders | | AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
SRINAGAR, Jun 12: In a tacit approval to the National Conference-led coalition government’s rollback of the soft policy adopted for separatists for the last few weeks, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today suggested that there would be no withdrawal of troops, revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) or dialogue with the separatist leadership in near future. He said that the UPA Government at the Centre was in favour of relocation of troops from the urban areas, reviewing of the special powers granted to armed forces in J&K as also in engaging “all sections” in a process of dialogue but made it clear that decisions to this effect could be taken after his thorough discussion with the Union Defence Ministry and the Prime Minister.
Before concluding his two-day visit to the Valley, Chidambaram said at a crowded news conference that in two days of his taking over as India’s Home Minister on May 21, he had assured Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that he would be visiting Srinagar in a few days. He clarified, in reply to a question, that his visit had been planned days before the alleged rape-cum-murder of two women and that it had specifically nothing to do with the tragic incident in Shopian. He added that during his interaction with the state government over the current situation in Valley, he had learned that Omar Abdullah’s government had clear intentions of bringing out the truth through a credible inquiry and punishing anybody found involved.
He said that in a couple of incidents, there was perception of avoidable delay but asserted that the state government was taking “proper action” and anybody found guilty would be punished.
Chidambaram said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had flagged the issue of relocation of troops and revocation of AFSPA during his visit to Jammu two months ago and now again. He revealed that his maiden visit to Valley after taking over as Home Minister had the purpose of assessing the current situation before starting off the process of reviewing these security related matters.
While endorsing that the armed insurgency in J&K had been reduced quantitatively and qualitatively, Chidambaram said that maintaining law and order was the primary responsibility of the state Police and it would come back to it after a comprehensive assessment of the situation. He said that the paramilitary forces had been helping the state Police in maintenance of law and order and fighting terrorism while as Army had assumed the role of countering infiltration and terrorism in the plains.
Indicating that Army and paramilitary force would be relocated in urban areas and troops would guard the country against infiltration of militants on the borders, Chidambaram said that decisions to this effect could be taken after his detailed discussion with the Union Defence Minister and the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, he categorically refused to give a time frame and said: “We have already moved in that direction”. [Later, taking to mediapersons, Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor, ruled out any relocation of troops until the end the annual Amarnath Yatra]. “I have told the Chief Minister that we would look into it (revocation of AFSPA) in all earnestness. But, for now, let us leave it here”, Chidambaram said. He said that New Delhi was in the process of “redrawing the lines of responsibility” --- euphemism for sending Army back to barracks and the borders--- for the state Police and armed forces in J&K.
As regards the third key issue of resuming dialogue with the Kashmiri separatists, Chidambaram made it clear that the UPA Government’s policy was to engage all sections in the process pf talks for resolution of the Kashmiri crisis. However, he did neither offer them any olive branch through media nor indicated any possibility of New Delhi’s invite going to them in near future.
Chidambaram claimed that stability had been “reasonably restored” in the trouble-torn state after the Assembly elections followed by recent Parliamentary elections. Notwithstanding a wide acknowledgment that militancy had come down, Chidambaram said, agitational activism had been on the rise. He said that “agitation that does not interfere with the normal life and governance” was very much acceptable in the Indian democratic system but made it clear that no such agitation, that would disrupt peoples’ life, business and governance, would be tolerated.
Home Minister admitted that only a political treatment would solve the political problem in J&K but added that the UPA Government was well aware of other problems like development and employment and, as such, committed to solve such problems. He said that J&K has a many problems common to those in other states but also a many unique problems. “People here want development, good education for their children”, he said and indicated that nobody would be allowed to disrupt routine life and governance in the state. He said that New Delhi would address the state’s political problems and a dialogue process (with all sections of political opinion) would start “at an appropriate time”.
In reply to a question, Chidambaram said that his government had no evidence of the presence of Taliban in J&K.
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