No U-turn in BJP’s crusade against terrorism: Jitendra
JAMMU: A couple of days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government appointed former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma for dialogue with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Thursday fired all salvos at the opposition, especially National Conference saying, “There is no U-turn in BJP’s fight against terrorism.”
He also made it clear that “there is no Kashmir issue except taking back Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), for which the Indian parliament under the Congress government passed a unanimous resolution in 1994.”
Addressing a gathering here on the occasion of Accession Day, Singh also clarified that former IB chief was not an interlocutor.
“Who says he is an interlocutor? He is a representative designated by the Union government to carry forward a sustained dialogue,” he asserted.
The home ministry’s order, the copy of which has been accessed by the HT, also reads that President appointed Sharma ‘as a representative of India to carry forward a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organisations and concerned individuals in the state of Jammu and Kashmir’.
He made it amply clear that there was no U-turn in BJP’s stand against terrorism and therefore, anti-terrorism operations and NIA raids were on.
In this context, he cited National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) raids on the houses of Salahuddin’s son that happened after the appointment of Sharma.
Soon after Sharma’s appointment, former chief minister and working president of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah had tweeted that the acceptance of the political nature of the issue was a defeat of those who saw force as a solution.
Singh also said that some people were trying to change the discourse on Kashmir and therefore it becomes imperative for the BJP workers to defeat such vicious campaigns.
Dr Singh asked National Conference, which of late has started liking last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, that why the party boycotted a programme in Jammu when statue of the ruler was installed.
Who says Dineshwar Sharma is an interlocutor? He is a representative designated by the Union government to carry forward a sustained dialogue. JITENDRA SINGH, Union minister of state for the Prime Minister’s Office