Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 29: BJP national general secretary and incharge J&K ,Ram Madhav today said that Centre has framed a five pronged strategy to crush the terrorism from across the border and push forward the developmental agenda to bring the strife –torn State out of the mess.
Addressing the BJP’s first ever Working Committee (WC) meeting at SKICC at Srinagar today, he said the Government has framed a five pronged strategy to weed out terrorism from the State completely by showing no leniency to those who take to arms. “Those who have taken up guns in their hands will be chased out to finish and will not be shown any leniency as the Government is firm on it’’, he added.
The BJP leader said that the youth who under the influence of some disgruntled leaders and vested interests indulge in stone pelting will, however, be persuaded to shun the path of violence and join the national mainstream for their as well as in the interests of the people of the State. The youth are also now fed up with the violence and there has been a change on ground situation as the stone pelting incidents have decreased to a great extent, he added.
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Madhav also said that the raids by National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the separatists, militant leaders and their agents receiving terror funds through Hawala channels will continue and they will have to face action under law as the Modi Government is committed to cut all source of funding to terrorism.
The BJP leader, however, reiterated that the Government will push ahead the process of dialogue and talks will be held with all those who wanted to talk for return of peace and normalcy in trouble -torn State .
Madhav said, the Modi Government is committed to the developmental agenda and there will be no let up in the same and the developmental programme will be taken up vigorously for upliftment of the people of all three regions of the State.
The Union Minister in PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh who also addressed the Working Committee while talking to reporters at the sidelines of the meeting accused National Conference (NC) and Congress of raising the demand of autonomy for Kashmir by “convenience”, usually when they are out of power.
He said the history of Kashmir bears out that from time to time, the demand for autonomy has been raised by certain political parties when they are out of power, but these same parties are ready to compromise this demand when they are back to power. In other words, these political parties and their leaders are not sincere even to the people of Kashmir and try to hoodwink them through their opportunist politics, he added.
Recalling the chronology of events, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in 1975 when Sheikh Abdullah was in a hurry to get back to power and become Chief Minister after a prolonged spell of wilderness, he appointed D D Thakur Committee to go into the provisions of Indian Constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. The Committee concluded that all these provisions applicable to the State were for the benefit of the people and Sheikh readily endorsed the report of the Committee, he added.
Similarly, Farooq Abdullah once brought in an Autonomy resolution which was dumped by the Central Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But, without offering any resistance or protest, he quietly preferred to continue as Chief Minister and his son as a junior Minister in the Union Government at that time. “If they were so committed to the idea of autonomy, why thdy didn’t resign from their respective posts’’, he asked.
He said now, that NC is out of power both at the Centre as well as in the State, they have once again raked up the issue and found a common cause in Chidambaram who, like other Congress leaders, is also desperately resorting to separatist jargon for revival.
But the people of Kashmir, particularly youth, can no longer be fooled by such jugglery, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
Lashing out at Chidambaram, Dr Jitendra Singh said, ”the kind of situation we are facing in Kashmir today is a cumulative outcome of the acts of omission and commission by Chidambaram’s party which has been in power for 50 of the 70 years after Independence, both at the Centre and in the State”.
“I don’t think the nation allows a former Home Minister the privilege to deliver sermons on his own acts of omission and commission,” he added. Chidambaram had yesterday pitched for greater autonomy for the Jammu and Kashmir, drawing stinging criticism from the BJP.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the BJP, for the first time, was following an approach on Kashmir which is based on consistency, conviction and clarity. ”We are trying to clear the mess and redeem the undoings of the successive governments which began with the infamous Nehruvian blunders,” he said.
Asked if the Centre’s representative on Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma will hold talks with militants and separatists, the Union Minister said the decision in this regard has been left to Sharma.
“Government of India has appointed a special representative who is designated and authorised to carry forward a sustained dialogue. He has the mandate to decide with whom to talk, where to talk, when to talk and how much to talk,” he said.
On the BJP meeting here, Singh said it was a “landmark” event.
“Not only because the BJP is for the first time holding its executive meeting in Capital City Srinagar but also because the BJP being a truly democratic party has made its presence felt in the Valley. The BJP is the only party which does not follow rule of dynasty and lineage,” he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, BJP is the only party which has the capacity to offer fair opportunity and fair deal to the aspirational youth of Kashmir. This is a party which functions on the principles of “justice to all” without considerations of religion, caste, creed or family lineage, he said.
Meanwhile, in a significant development the two Ministers of alliance partners of BJP, the PDP and Peoples Conference (PC) today not only attended the first ever Working Committee meeting of BJP but also addressed it to dismiss all the doubts created earlier that BJP is untouchable.
This is for the first time in last three years of the PDP-BJP coalition that the Ministers of the two alliance partners attended the Working Committee meeting of BJP. The Works Minister and senior leader of PDP, Naem Akhtar and Minister of Social Welfare and Science & Technology and chairman of PC, Sajjad Gani Lone not only attended the Working Committee meeting of the alliance partner but also addressed it.
In his address, Lone while dispelling all doubts about BJP, said that during their childhood they were being told that BJP men are Sanghis who are very dangerous. “They strangulate the people. But when we grew up and we have seen for ourselves that there is nothing like that,. The BJP men are good people and there is nothing like that as had been propagated against them earlier. Now we have developed good relations’’, he added.
Naem Akhtar, while addressing the Working Committee members of BJP said that former Chief Minister and PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had a dream to shorten the distance between the two regions of the State i.e Jammu and Kashmir and keeping this in mind he joined hands with BJP as he believed that this decision will be in the larger interests of the people of the State as well as the nation.
He said former Chief Minister considered BJP a nationalist and disciplined organization. “Former CM had said that BJP believed that Kashmir is an integral part of India and Kashmiris are Indians’’, he said while quoting Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Moreover, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has given the main thrust on the developmental agenda will also take keen interest in the development of the strife -torn State was the concept of former CM, Akhtar added.
He said it is the duty of all alliance partners to work for fulfillment of the dreams of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
BJP National vice president and Prabhari J&K Avinash Rai Khanna asked BJP activists to go every nook and corner of Valley to interact with masses and win their hearts.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh termed today’s Working Committee meet a big leap forward for BJP in the society of Kashmir. He said some organizations tried to create a negative image of BJP in the minds of people but the sincere and positive approach of the party has led to building of high hopes of development .
The presidential address was made by Sat Sharma who lauded the developmental agenda of both State and Central Governments.
A political resolution was also passed by voice vote in the WC meeting which was read by MP Shamsher Singh Manhas , seconded by Jugal Kishroe Sharma also MP and summed up by Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh.
BJP organizational general secretary, Ashok Koul also spoke in the meeting while the proceedings were conducted by Pawan Khajuria another general secretary of the party. Sanjay Baru, secretary BJP read minutes of last meeting.
MLC and senior BJP leader Ashok Khajuria and vice president of the Party, Dr Darakshan Andrabi were also present in the meeting.
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