After a one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the Prime Minister “appears amenable” to holding talks with stakeholders if the situation becomes normal in the troubled Valley. She also said that an atmosphere needed to be created for starting a dialogue.
“Talks cannot happen amid stone pelting and firing of bullets,” she told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Modi at his residence. “The Prime Minister has intentions of holding talks after the situation becomes normal,” she said.
At the meeting, she invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s policy on Kashmir, and said the thread should be picked up from where he had left off, an apparent suggestion for talks with separatists.
“Talks are the only option,” Mehbooba said. “How long can you have confrontationIJ Talks with Hurriyat Conference had taken place when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and lK Advani was the Deputy Prime Minister. We need to start from where Vajpayee left. Talks are the only way out,” she said, replying to a volley of questions on her meeting with Modi.
However, Mehbooba evaded all question on her party’s perceived differences with its coalition partner, the BJP. “Whatever happened should not have taken place. But this is an internal matter and we will resolve it with the BJP,” Mehbooba said.
She also raised the Indus Waters Treaty issue, saying it was causing a huge loss of Rs20,000 crore to the State. Mehbooba said Modi assured her that efforts would be made to see how the State would be compensated for this.
The Chief Minister said the situation in Kashmir would be discussed in a meeting of the Unified Command on Tuesday. The GOC-in-C Northern Command, GOC 16 Corps, GOC 15 corps, DGP J&K, IG BSF, IG CRPF, senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing and Deputy Chief Minister of J&K Nirmal Singh too will participate in the meeting in Srinagar.
later the Chief Minister met Home Minister Rajnath Singh. She said that both the PM and the Home Minister assured her about the security of the students from Kashmir studying in other States in the country.
“I understand that the coming two to three months are crucial for us. The situation of Jammu & Kashmir will change and improve. We will first restore normalcy, then the talks can be initiated,” she said after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh. BJP’s general secretary in-charge of the State Ram Madhav was also present in the meeting.
Talking to the media later, Madhav asserted that there was no rift between the BJP and the PDP but admitted to a lack of communication between the two parties. “There is no rift. There is some issue with regard to the Member of legislative Council election. We noticed that there was some lack of communication between the two parties. Those things will be addressed,” he told reporters.