Reach out to people, not to separatists: opposition tells Govt

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) As the Indian government came
out with its eight-point formula for northern state of Jammu
and Kashmir, main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party Saturday
said it would support all steps which are "anti-separatists
and pro-citizens".
"BJP favours return of normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir. It
has always stood for strong signals being sent to separatists
that India shall not compromise on its sovereignty under any
circumstances," the party said in a statement.
The party maintained its opposition to any dilution
of the provisions of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
After a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security,
Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram announced that the
government had decided to appoint a group of interlocutors
headed by an eminent person, and would suggest to the Jammu
and Kashmir government to release all those booked under minor
charges, and also reopen educational institutions.
Chidambaram said the state Government will be
advised to review the notification of areas as "Disturbed
Areas" but did not elaborate if it was a prelude to any phased
withdrawal of the AFSPA from certain areas of the Valley.
"We shall not accept any dilution of the provisions of
Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Obviously, even para-military
forces require the protection of this Act in areas such as
Srinagar. There should be no compromise with security," the
BJP said.
In its statement, the opposition party stressed that
government should reach out to the common people and not the
separatists if it wanted to solve the problems in the state.
"BJP is of the opinion that instead of reaching out to
the separatists, the Government of India must reach out to the
average citizens of the Valley and prevent their harassment,"
the party said.
The BJP, which had sent its senior leaders Sushma
Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to the state as part of the all-party
delegation earlier this week, said it welcomed all steps which
would help the people.
"In a nutshell, to the extent the government's
approach is anti-separatist and pro-citizen, we will welcome
it; any dilution of this position will not find support from
the BJP," the party said.
The main opposition also said that there should be no
discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh regions of the border
state in north India.
"BJP firmly believes that the areas of Jammu and Ladakh
have been discriminated against. The people of these regions
should not be discriminated against merely because they are
strong nationalists and do not foment trouble. Their grievance
of discrimination should be removed at the earliest," the
party said. PTI RC
SAK


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