Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 2: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will brief all members of the All Party Delegation (APD) in the Parliament House at New Delhi tomorrow morning to evolve consensus on the meetings the delegations would have during its two days stay in Jammu and Kashmir on September 4 and 5.
“Rajnath’s meeting with all the delegation members, who would be visiting Jammu and Kashmir, has been fixed at 11 am in the Parliament Hall,’’ official sources told the Excelsior.
They said out of 29 delegation members, 28 have confirmed their participation while Dharamveer Gandhi of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is abroad and was unlikely to join the delegation, which will be headed by Rajnath Singh.
According to sources, the Centre would try to build consensus in tomorrow’s meeting with All Party Delegation members on the meetings they would have with political parties, Civil Society, various social, religious and trade organizations and individuals during their two-day stay in Srinagar and Jammu on September 4 and 5.
The need for consensus has been necessitated following voices emanating from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), whose senior leader Sitaram Yechury, who is also part of the delegation openly batting for dialogue with the separatists to contain unrest in the Kashmir valley, which is going on for past about 55 days having taking nearly 72 lives and leaving 8000 others injured, about half of them para-military and police personnel.
The Congress has also called for talks with non-mainstream parties though it has not directly named separatists.
Sources said the Union Home Minister would try to build consensus among the delegation members during his meeting tomorrow on meetings with different parties, organizations and individuals. However, they added, he was not going to insist on the individual members to completely follow the Government line and might ask some members, who insist on meeting separatists or Hurriyat Conference leaders, to do so in their individual capacity.
“The Government is of the view that since the delegation is dealing with very sensitive State of Jammu and Kashmir, all political parties, who were part of the delegation, must put up united face and expose Pakistani designs as it has become amply clear that the neighbouring country was adding fuel to the fire,’’ sources said, adding that the Government of India was confident of gaining support of all parties on the issue.
Pointing out that even Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati, whose members were not joining the delegation for different reasons, have extended full support to the Centre on Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said other parties were also almost unanimous on majority of issues barring voice of talks with separatists raised from some quarters.
The Government would make it clear to the delegation members that the talks on Jammu and Kashmir with any political party and organization would be held only within the ambit of Constitution of India, which has been declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself in an All Party Meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi on August 22. Modi as well as Rajnath Singh have also reiterated Vajpayee’s doctrine on Kashmir for talks within the ambit of ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat’.
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi has written to the Principal Secretaries to Governor and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police calling for stepped-up security in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of All Party Delegation’s visit apart from making other arrangements including meetings with various organizations, political parties and individuals with the delegation.
Sources said all security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir including para-military forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police have been put on very high alert in the entire State in anticipation of surge in violence or terror attack ahead of the visit of All Party Delegation to Jammu and Kashmir.
Headed by Rajnath Singh, the delegation will have three official members including Singh himself, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh. However, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan will join the delegation as representative of his Lok Janshakti Party.
The Congress members will include Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, AICC (I) general secretary, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, Ambika Soni and Congress Leader in Lok Sabha, Malikarjun Kharge.
The All Party Delegation, as reported, will meet delegations in Srinagar on September 4 and till noon of September 5 and in Jammu from September 5 afternoon till evening before departing for the Union capital.
The delegation will also have meetings with Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
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