Leaders talking of Kashmir’s azadi insulting soldiers: Modi

All of a sudden, those who were in power till yesterday have taken a Uturn. Shamelessly, they are lending their voice for Kashmir’s azadi. NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister

BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress on Sunday of “shamelessly lending its voice for Kashmir’s azadi”, saying it was an insult to the soldiers who have laid down their lives for the restive state.

His remarks came in response to Congress leader and former Union home minister P Chidambaram’s pitch for “greater autonomy” to Jammu and Kashmir, after the Centre appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as its representative for dialogue with stakeholders in the state.

“Those who were in power till yesterday ... Shamelessly, they are lending their voice for Kashmir’s azadi ... using language used by the separatists in Kashmir and spoken by Pakistan,” Modi said in Bengaluru.

“This is an insult to our soldiers,” he said, adding that thousands of jawans have sacrificed their lives for Kashmir. “This is the land of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and we will not allow any compromise on the unity and integrity of the country.”

Chidambaram had on Saturday talked about autonomy to the state — provided under Article 370 of the Constitution and which has been under attack from BJP amidst opposition from state parties and Congress.

Modi said he was surprised that this was coming from “those who were in power at the Centre, those who were responsible for the country’s internal security and national security”.

NEWDELHI: The establishment of a US-India-JapanAustralia Contact Group over developments in Indo-Pacific will come up for discussion in meetings between United States President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the East Asia Summit in Manila next month.

The development is significant as China has accused previous Contact Groups as a “ganging-up” exercise against it. It also successfully kept India out of the Quadrilateral Contact Group on Afghanistan with the US and Pakistan being the other partners.

“Work has begun on Asia-Pacific Quadrilateral, a forum to ensure that rule of law prevails on the high seas and skies,” a senior Indian official said. The four countries are also likely to encourage participation from ASEAN countries, the official added.

The unilateral action of China in the South China Sea and developments in North Korea will be in focus, he said.