J&K talks are for peace, terror support will be tackled militarily: BJP
FOR AUTONOMY: Chidambaram says appointment of interlocutor diversionary tactic, ‘azadi’ demand is for autonomy
NEW DELHI: The appointment of an interlocutor is not a U-turn in the government’s Kashmir approach as militants and their supporters would be tackled militarily while those who want to have a dialogue can come and talk, BJP leader and its Kashmir incharge Ram Madhav said on Saturday.
Madhav rebutted opposition criticism to the move, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kashmir policy was “consistent” in a sense that tackling the issue needed a multi-pronged approach that called for different activities to be taken up simultaneously.
“And one of them is to tackle terrorists through strong military action. Whoever indulges in antinational activities in the valley — whether in the form of indulging in terrorism or in the form of promoting it, sponsoring it, supporting it — will be caught. That will continue. But if somebody wants to come and talk to the central government, they can talk to the representative,” he told CNN-New18 TV news channel.
Asked if it was not a complete shift from the government’s approach of refusing to talk to the Hurriyat and an acknowledgement that the solution to the Kashmir problem lay in dialogue, Madhav said talks would be held with “sections that are ready to engage... but you will deal with sections in an appropriate manner that are out to indulge in terror”.
The government on Monday appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as an interlocutor to open talks with all stakeholders in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, former Union Home minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said the appointment of an interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir was a “diversionary” tactic and felt the “azadi” demand meant people want autonomy which should be seriously examined.
He said the appointment of Dineshwar Sharma to hold talks in Kashmir doesn’t indicate a change of heart or approach by the Centre in its policy but that it will continue to hold on to its “muscular policy and military solution”.
“The appointment of the interlocutor should not lead us to think that there is a change of heart of the government. I don’t believe that there is a change of heart or change of approach. I still believe that they will continue to hold on to the muscular policy and military solution,” Chidambaram told The Wire news portal.
Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Chidambaram said when people in Kashmir ask for “azadi” most of them want autonomy. “Therefore, I think we should seriously examine the autonomy demand. It is very much within the Constitution. Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India with some amount of autonomy.”