PELLING (SIKKIM), May 21:
“Kashmir is ours, Kashmiris are ours and Kashmiriyat is also ours,” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today, asserting that the Modi Government will find a “permanent solution” to the Kashmir problem.
The Home Minister’s assertion came amid continued unrest in the Kashmir valley.
Addressing a public reception here in this tiny Northeastern State, Singh accused Pakistan of trying to “destabilise” India by fomenting trouble in Kashmir.
“But I want to tell all of you that our Government will find a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue,” he said, without elaborating.
Rajnath Singh said heads of Government of all neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, were invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi Government in 2014 in an indication that India wanted friendly relations with them.
However, he deplored, there was no change in the “attitude” of Pakistan which wanted to “destabilise” India.
“We hope that Pakistan will change. If it does not change, we will have to change them. After globalisation, one country can’t destabilise another country as the international community will not forget it,” he said.
The Home Minister is on a three-day visit to Sikkim during which he attended a conference of Himalayan States to review the security situation and development activities along the Sino-Indian border.
He also visited the Nathu La border post, besides a few posts of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and SSB along the Sino-India and Indo-Nepal border respectively.
Kashmir is in a vice-like grip of violence since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in July last year. Though there was a brief lull, violence erupted again on April 9 this year when the bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha seat was held. Normalcy has eluded the State since.
Eight people were killed in firing by security forces on the polling day and a paltry 7.14 per cent of the electors came out to vote, the lowest ever in the Valley since the rise of militancy in 1989.
Bypoll for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat was first deferred and then cancelled by the Election Commission which said the situation in the region was “scary”.
Students have joined the protests like never before with even girls taking to streets and fighting pitched battles with security forces.
Around 80 people had lost their lives as violence held the valley in a prolonged stranglehold in the aftermath of the killing of Burhan Wani, who had emerged as the posterboy of militancy in Kashmir.
Rajnath Singh assured the Central paramilitary personnel that he will personally check every month that any complaint registered by them on an app launched by his ministry is speedily addressed.
The Minister was speaking as he joined the jawans of the the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), posted in the inhospitable terrain of Indo-Nepal border in Sikkim, for a special lunch or ‘bada khana’ organised by the force.
Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Sikkim, reached the headquarters of the 36th battalion of SSB and took stock of the situation along the International Border.
He interacted with the jawans and sought to know the problems faced by them.
As the border guarding force had organised a ‘bada khana’, the Home Minister joined them in the vegetarian lunch comprising puri, vegetables, dal, rice, papad, kheer and gulab jamun.
Singh asked the jawans to register their problems on the recently launched mobile application of the Home Ministry.
“I will personally check the app every month and see whether action is taken on the problems registered or not,” he said.
The mobile-based grievance redressal app was launched by Singh early this month against the backdrop of incidents where jawans had taken to social media to voice their complaints.
Singh had said he “gets emotional” when he sees the jawans and officers working in difficult areas.
The centralised app is for five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) of CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB besides the Delhi Police.
Four months ago, BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav had created a stir when he took to social media to complain about alleged bad quality food being served to troops. Quite a few such videos followed in quick succession.
The SSB is tasked to guard the 1,751-km long Indo-Nepal border. (PTI)
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