Opposition says it has trumped Mehbooba
CM MUFTI WAS IN DELHI ON AUGUST 8 AND MET HOME MINISTER RAJNATH SINGH BUT DID NOT MEET THE PRIME MINISTER
NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders from Jammu and Kashmir are upbeat after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi – they feel they have seized the initiative from chief minister Mehbooba Mufti in resolving the volatile situation in the Valley.
The Prime Minister’s concern over the turmoil, his call for peace and emphasis on dialogue are some things they can take back to the people in Kashmir, where seven weeks of violence has left 67 people dead and thousands injured.
“What Mehbooba Mufti could not do for the past 45 days, the opposition leaders have managed to do (in a meeting). For the first time, there was an empathetic and encouraging language from the PM,” said Prof Noor Ahmad Baba of Kashmir University.
Mufti was in Delhi for a day on August 8 and met home minister Rajnath Singh for almost two hours. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and national security adviser Ajit Doval were among those present in the meeting.
But Mufti, who is ruling the border state in alliance with the Modi’s BJP, didn’t meet the Prime Minister, and it was noticed. “It is surprising that when the Valley is burning and the CM is in Delhi, there is no meeting between the two,” said Congress leader GN Monga, who was part of the eightmember opposition delegation that met Modi on August 22.
“She should have met the PM and personally apprised him of the prevailing volatile situation in Kashmir,” he said.
The Prime Minister, sources said, had promptly accepted a request for a meeting from the delegation led by National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah.
The request was sent Sunday morning and within hours, the leaders, who were camping in Delhi, were told that the PM would meet them at 5pm the same evening. The meeting, however, was pushed to 9.30am the next day because of PM’s busy schedule, sources said.
Political analysts are of the view that the PM’s conciliatory statement after a prolonged “silence” on Kashmir, which echoed loud after his strong words on Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, is significant and could be the icebreaker the Valley needs.
In his meeting with the opposition leaders Modi said there was a need for dialogue and a permanent solution to the region’s troubles. “Those who lost their lives during recent disturbances are a part of us, our nation. Whether the lives lost are of our youth, security personnel or police, it distresses us,” a government statement had quoted Modi as saying.
Mufti, on the other hand, is accused of failing to grasp the gravity of the situation. Her statement on Monday that only 5% people were creating unrest in Kashmir and the remaining 95% wanted to live in peace, too, has not gone down well.