Ready for dialogue with every stakeholder in J&K: Madhav
The Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government are ready to hold dialogue with every stakeholder, including separatists, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Thursday.
During a visit to J&K, Madhav told reporters that from the outset, the government had been stating that its door was open for all the stakeholders in the state.
“They are welcome to have a dialogue with the state government as well as the Centre. We are open to dialogue,” he said.
The BJP is an ally in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state.
Madhav said questions should be asked to those who did not want to take part in the dialogue.
His statement comes less than a week after the separatist leadership — Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik— announced that they never opposed a “sincere, meaningful and result-oriented dialogue” among the “three parties” to the Kashmir dispute. They had said the dialogue should fulfill the “will and aspirations of the people of Kashmir”.
When his attention was drawn to the statement, Madhav said: “If there is any such statement (by the separatists), it will be taken note of by the appropriate people.” In the same breath, he went on to add, “We are ready to talk to everybody, whosoever wants to have a dialogue without any preconditions.”
The latest peace overture also comes amid arrests of many separatist leaders by the NIA over allegations of terror funding.
Madhav hailed the “efforts” of the coalition partners — the BJP and the PDP— and the security forces in combating militancy.
Stating that the coalition government in the state was “working very well” focusing on the development, the BJP leader said militancy was declining.
Kashmir has been witnessing vigorous anti-insurgency operations by security forces in the past few months, particularly after increase in militant activities following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July last year.