India on Monday slammed Pakistan for “sponsoring” terrorism and unrest in Jammu & Kashmir and interfering in the internal affairs of the country. Maintaining that Kashmiris are “our own people and they were being misguided,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh charged Pakistan with playing an “irresponsible role” by claiming itself as protector of Islam and Indian Muslims.
Making this assertion in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said the Indian democracy and its people were the best guardians of minorities and chided Pakistan for not being able to set its own house which is rocked by sectarian violence.
Referring to the demands for “plebiscite”, Singh said it is “outdated” and people of Kashmir are being “misguided” on this issue. “Kashmiris are our own people. We will bring them on the right path... We will make them aware of the reality,” he said.
Home Minister’s strong statement came a day before Pakistan is set to observe Black Day on Tuesday to support the Kashmir cause. Singh said Pakistan’s role in fomenting trouble in Kashmir was “na-pak (unholy)” and pointed out that the neighbouring country’s failure to manage its own affairs resulted in its division. He was obviously referring to creation of Bangladesh.
Assuring the RS that the Centre was taking all possible steps to restore normalcy in the Kashmir Valley, Singh said, “I want to assure all minorities in the country that they should have faith in the Government and not be misguided.” The Minister made this point as members from several parties urged the Government to assuage the feeling of alienation among Kashmiris.
He said the Government was open to the suggestion of an all-party meeting here in the coming days over the Kashmir issue. This proposal came from leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and was backed by Sitaram Yechury (CPM), D Raja (CPI) and Sharad Yadav (JDU).
Participating in a discussion on the Kashmir situation, these leaders expressed concern over the situation with Azad claiming the State was sliding back to the 1990s when militancy was at peak. He said the curfew was now on for the tenth consecutive day in ten districts of Kashmir Valley causing hardships to common people.
He along with other Opposition members also charged the Government with trying to solve the complex problem by the “barrel of the gun.”
He grilled the Government over the issue of using excessive force resulting in casualties. Rajnath Singh said he was also pained by the death of civilians in the ongoing unrest adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ordered the paramilitary forces to act with maximum restraint.
Singh said the Prime Minister was concerned over the situation in the State and called him from Africa when trouble broke out last week. Moreover, as soon as he returned to New Delhi, Modi chaired a review meeting on Kashmir and directed that necessary steps be taken to control the situation, the Minister informed the House.
Replying to Azad’s charge that pellet guns used by the security force resulted in serious injuries like some youngster losing their eyesight, the Home Minister said he will look into the matter. He said six people had died and more than 198 injured when pellet guns were used to quell mob violence in the State in 2010.
He also favoured suggestion by all Opposition members on lifting restrictions on newspapers and internet, assuring the members that he will take up the issue with Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Responding to the other demand by the Elders to start the political dialogue as a confidence building measure and “healing touch,” the Minister said he had called up senior leaders of many parties when situation assumed alarming proportions last week. Rajnath said he received several positive suggestions from them.
The Minister said as part of political dialogue, he had expressed desire to visit Kashmir to the Chief Minister two days back. Welcoming the proposal that he will interact with common people, the Chief Minister urged him to wait till things normalised to an extent, the minister informed the House. He also said the Chief Minister said she will come to New Delhi in the next few days to apprise him with the latest situation.
Invoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous remarks of ‘Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaniyat’ (kashmiriyat, democracy and humanity), he said, “If there is any place for Kashmiriyat in ‘Jamhooriyat’ (democracy), it can be only on the basis of ‘Insaniyat’ (humanity) and not ‘Haivaniyat’ (devilish acts). Those believing in Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat cannot give space to haivaniyat.”
Azad said while his party stands with the Modi Government and the coalition in the State in dealing firmly with militancy, the “excessive use” of force against the common citizens, including children and women, is not acceptable.
For the current unrest, he blamed a number of reasons, including BJP’s participation in Government with PDP in the State, provocative statements made by some leaders of BJP and RSS besides Pakistan, “whose existence is the root cause of all problems.”
leader of House Arun Jaitley admitted that the situation in Kashmir was a “matter of concern” but rejected the contention that the violence in the valley was a result of the BJP getting into power at the State.