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| BJP stand on Kashmir stops PM in tracks over dialogue and autonomy | | | ABID SHAH
EARLY TIMES REPORT
NEW DELHI, Sept 6: Amid protests staging a comeback in at least a part of the Kashmir Valley resulting in police firing and Prime Minister’s meeting with important editors in New Delhi to discuss various issued, the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party called on Manmohan Singh here this evening to give their piece of mind on the vexed issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP delegation to the Prime Minister was led by party veteran LK Advani and included the leaders of Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley besides SS Ahluwalia.
And as the meeting with the BJP leaders was prescheduled Mamohan Singh was, indeed, cautious today during his interaction with editors of different though select media houses where questions regarding the Kashmir situation were asked. Instead of his usual position on resumption of dialogue with leaders of separatist movement, Manmohan Singh said told the editors invited for interaction that the Cabinet Committee on Security would meet soon to discuss the issues faced by Jammu and Kashmir threadbare.
The Prime Minister also did not show optimism regarding his oft repeated possible resolution of Kashmir. Instead he said that “there was no royal road” in case of problems like those related to Naxalites or Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP leaders who met Manmohan Singh after Prime Minister’s conference with the editors submitted a memorandum to Singh expressing concern over three-month-long agitation in the Valley and disappointment over Government response to it. The memorandum expressed concern over the possibilities of Jammu and Kashmir being given more autonomy and said that the Government should take steps for integration of the border State with the rest of the country.
The BJP memorandum called for Jammu, Leh and Ladakh being given parity with Kashmir. The memorandum that has been given to Prime Minister two days after the CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat met Prime Minister and submitted him a letter is diametrically opposed to the Left party’s stand on Kashmir which sought initiation of unconditional dialogue on Kashmir without delay besides a host of steps to be taken on the part of the Government to ease the tense situation in Kashmir.
The BJP memorandum signed by its top leaders mainly says, “We have been constrained to approach you on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party in view of the serious situation that has been existing in the State of Jammu & Kashmir for the past three months. The situation in the State is slipping out of control. It appears to us that the Central Government has no clear action plan to deal with the situation.
“Kashmir has been a part of the unfinished agenda of Pakistan emanating from India’s partition. Pakistan has never reconciled to the fact of Kashmir being an integral part of India. Its tactics have ranged from internationalising the dispute, creating internal insurgencies through cross-border terrorism and supporting mob violence in order to create instability in the State. The BJP believes that historical mistakes committed in the past 63 years on the Indian side have further compounded the problem. Time has come to look back and review whether our policy in the past 63 years has led to a fuller integration of the State of Jammu & Kashmir into India or has generated further problems.
“Separate and special status, even though transient and temporary, gave rise to a psyche which prevented the full psychological integration as a State of India. It renewed the hopes of separatists that the political and constitutional relationship between India and Jammu & Kashmir could be further weakened. Demands ranging from autonomy to the pre-1953 status and self-rule emanating from some political parties of the State have only added to this psyche. We learn from the newspapers as also statements of government functionaries that some political steps are being announced purportedly to deal with the present situation.
“The problems in the State emanate from cross-border terrorism, internal insurgency, lack of economic development and sub-regional discrimination. Do any of these problems or a proposed solution has anything to do with the inadequacy of power both legislative and executive in the State? The Central Government’s powers are today confined to security, defence of India, currency, foreign affairs and telecommunications. Are we in a position to abdicate any of these? Are we in a position to go back to even suggest that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission will not extend to the State as some have demanded? Let us not mislead ourselves. The demands for autonomy, self-rule or dilution of Central Government’s authority have nothing to do with the present problem in the Kashmir valley. Autonomy or self-rule are only interim steps towards ‘Azadi’ The people of India will never accept either of these.
“If you analyse the nature of the present demands, they are all intended to weaken India’s sovereignty. Dilution of Army’s presence in the valley, dilution of the provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, dilution of the Line of Control and allowing legitimacy to infiltration are only some examples of this kind.
“There is a need to strengthen the Security scenario in the State. It is only when the security scenario is strengthened that economic development can effectively take place in the State. Mainstream political process has to be resumed not by weakening India’s sovereignty but by letting the separatists know that ‘Azadi’ is not even a distant dream, it is an impossibility which can never be realised. Additionally, the discrimination against Jammu, Leh and Ladakh has to effectively end.”
Thus, today’s developments may add to the challenge before the Centre. And the State Government may also not be in any better stead since BJP has given a call for protests all over Jammu region on Wednesday (Sept 8) against any move to give autonomy at the demand leaders from the Valley.
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