The Centre on Tuesday put the Jammu & Kashmir Government on notice with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asserting that the continuance of the State Government wherein the BJP is an alliance partner with the PDP was not the priority. He insisted it was national security that was the Centre’s priority. Backed by Singh’s statement, the State BJP threatened to pull out of the ruling alliance if the PDP went ahead with its “hidden agenda”. However, at the same time it also said it had no objections if the PDP wanted to release other such leaders, but called for a proper system to be adopted to review their cases. BJP president Amit Shah also took stock of the situation on ground with State Deputy CM Nirmal Singh and other senior leaders.
Under fire for the release of hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam, the Jammu & Kashmir Government, on its part, announced that there would be no further release of militants or political prisoners. “There is no such thing,” State Home Secretary Suresh Kumar said in reply to a question whether the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Government will continue with the release of militants and political prisoners as the media reported that Government was planning to release 800 more separatists.
Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh said that his Government will not compromise with national security at any cost. “For us any Government, whether in alliance or not, that is not our priority. Our priority is country and its security. You should understand this intention of ours,” Singh said on the sidelines of CISF Raising Day in Ghaziabad. Kumar clarified, “No Public Safety Act could be re-framed against Masarat Alam, that is why he was released. Rest there is nothing more (releases).” Defending the decision to release Masarat, he said, “There is a limit to detaining someone under PSA. You can have maximum six months and one time more.”
“This guy was under preventive detention since beginning of 2010. How long can he be continued under PSAIJ You have to abide by the rule of the country. Now media is making an issue out of it. Whom to explain what,” he said. Referring to the release of Pakistani nationals, the Home Secretary termed it a routine process.
Ashok Koul, BJP State general secretary, said, “That (breaking the alliance) can be the case if the situation comes to that. But Mufti (J&K CM) told our delegation that such things will not happen in the future. It (State Government) should adopt a system (on the release of separatist leaders)... Our understanding is that this (Alam’s release) had to happen and we do not deny it. But there is a system (for it).”
In his meeting with Shah, Nirmal Singh told him about the strong objections raised by him and other State leaders over Alam’s release, which was done unilaterally without discussion with the BJP. Other senior party leaders from the State, including party president Jugal Kishore Sharma also met Shah. In Jammu, senior PDP leader and Sports Minister Imran Raza Ansari said the State Government will abide by the court directives on the release of political prisoners. “Whatever the Supreme Court and courts tell us, we are going to abide by that (on release of political prisoners in future),’ he said.
In Delhi, earlier in the day members in both the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha raised the issue of release calling the development as “anti-national” and dangerous to the country’s integrity. The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated discussion in the first half of Zero Hour with SP member Naresh Agarwal demanding of suspension of business and sought explanation from the Government on important national security issue. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that House cannot be media-driven.
Opposition parties sought Government’s clarification on reports that the J&K Government was planning to release 800 more jailed separatists. After Naresh Agarwal and others raised the issue, Jaitley said Government was ready to respond to any specific case brought to its notice. The Congress sought immediate clarification from the Government over a letter, which states that the release of Masarat Alam was ordered on February 4, when Jammu & Kashmir was under Governor’s rule. Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said this contradicts the statements of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the action taken by the Mufti Government.