‘Will talk directly to lawyers, teachers, others’
Guns have been decimated
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 31: In a significant statement, Governor Satya Pal Malik has declared that there will be no dialogue with mainstream political parties or separatists but only with the Kashmir civil society directly and said the politicians have been detained as there were apprehensions that their utterances will spoil the ground situation.
“There will be no dialogue with the mainstream political parties or the separatists while the line of Hurriyat Conference has no meaning in Naya Kashmir and Naya Bharat,” Malik told a national newspaper in an interview.
The Governor asked: “How can you have a dialogue with someone who said there will be no one to hold the national tricolor. And what kind of legitimacy does Mehbooba have as a politician? She got only 2 percent votes in her own home town of Bijbehara”.
He said the Hurriyat’s line has no meaning in ‘Naya Kashmir, Naya Bharat’ and they can no longer claim Pakistan as a stakeholder.
Malik indicated that instead of talking to mainstream political leaders or separatists including the Hurriyat Conference, he will talk to lawyers, teachers and other sections directly.
On arrests of mainstream politicians following scrapping of special Constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, Malik said the fear is that their utterances will spoil the ground situation.
“Even if she (Mehbooba Mufti) or Omar Abdullah march with 20 or 50 people and threaten to burn Raj Bhawan, we will be forced to open fire,” he said, adding that Mehbooba has been detained in a beautiful cottage where “I too wish to stay”.
The Governor said the leaders should learn to live in jail but they (the mainstream politicians including Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti) are not even in jail.
“Omar is staying in Hari Niwas, which is ‘Raja Ka Mahal’ (king’s palace),” he asserted.
Continuing his tirade against People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Malik said the media and some politicians want large protests to break out.
“You all want dead bodies. Mehbooba Madam, who is an expert in shedding tears and reaching homes even before deaths have taken place, had said there would be no one to hold the national tricolor but the mainstream political parties have been rejected,” he added.
On how long the detention of political leaders will continue, the Governor said this will depend on the ground situation, New Delhi and assessment of law and order agencies as his focus is to ensure smooth supplies now and that there is enough medicines, and money in ATMs.
He agreed that the common man went into a state of shock and there is anger but said, slowly, the anger will melt. “The anger has not spilled over onto the streets. I do understand the feelings of the Kashmiris and assure them that their religion and culture will be protected”.
Maintaining that people had false impression that Article 370 had empowered them, the Governor said: “You will see million people queuing up for 50,000 jobs announced by the State Government. Modi Ji (the Prime Minister) has asked all Ministers to let him know what they can do for Kashmir. Not a single life has been lost”.
On whether the present situation could lead more local youth joining the ranks of militancy, Malik said the guns have been decimated and will continue to be decimated.
“You (the militants) cannot take on India with the gun. The local militants are not powerful than the LTTE. The gun destroyed them too,” he added.
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