Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Former Union Minister and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader, Yashwant Sinha, today said talks and not bullet are the only way forward for resolution of Jammu and Kashmir issue.
Speaking to reporters here after concluding his second visit to Kashmir valley, Sinha said his delegation met cross-section of people including youth and asserted that dialogue is the only way forward. “See, like last time, wherever we went this time and met people, I told them in the beginning that we have come to attach ourselves with your pain for the sake of humanity,” he said.
Sinha, who is former External Affairs Minister of India, said they conveyed to the people whom they met that they have no Government mandate and have come to Valley as “concerned citizens of India”. “We have not come with anyone’s mandate and we haven’t come with any authority but we have to come to attach ourselves with your pain and agony as concerned citizens of India,” he said.
The delegation head, who for the first time arrived in Valley in the month of September and called on both moderate and hardline separatists, said the talks went ahead only after they conveyed to people that there is no Government backing to the delegation. “Having said this, it is obvious that talks went ahead and we keenly heard them (people),” he said.
Sinha said that at every place and in every meeting, “people said that the basic reason of their pain is perhaps that no solution has been found for the issue of Jammu and Kashmir from last 70 years, a solution should come out of this issue and then automatically everything would be normal”.
He said they told the people that the way for finding solution of any issue is holding mutual talks and “we should talk to each other”. “And when we will talk to each, the solution of the issue will come out,” he said, adding: “bandooq ki goli se nahi niklega par pyaar ki boli se niklega (the solution won’t come out through bullet of gun but through language of love).”
Sinha said he believed most of the people were happy after hearing that language of love is the way forward for settling issue. “They (people) said ‘you are very right and we should move ahead on this path’,” the former Minister said.
The former Union Minister said: “So, whatever talks they have had in these three days, it was good and the talks were also held with people who had come from far-flung areas. The local youths also attended several meetings and talks were held with them as well,” he said.
The delegation head said that he admitted there is lot of pain in some people’s minds. “… When they express they do it in anger. But we were ready to understand that as well. We understood their pain and didn’t felt bad of their words and I think with whatever our talks took place they also agree that dialogue is the only way for finding solution of this issue (of Jammu and Kashmir),” he said.
Sinha further said though they have told everyone that they do not have the power of the Government but “we will surely take our views to the Government but if the power of the people comes together with us, then we will exercise that moral authority for starting a dialogue process”.
He said even business class in Kashmir want resolution of basic issue of Jammu and Kashmir and least bother about economic losses. “Both last time as well as this time, when we talked to those (business) groups who, we thought, will give priority to economic considerations, those very groups also said that the basic issue is the pending issue of Jammu and Kashmir, so we will not talk to about our losses, but you try to solve this basic issue,” he said.
Sinha acknowledged that the basic issue is long pending unresolved issue of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the talks have been fruitful and sounded optimistic the outcome. “… Then there is a moral power by virtue of which some people in our country have achieved biggest feats. So, there is no reason to be dejected and we are working with a hope and we also want the people here to have hope,” he said.
Sinha announced that he will once again recommend starting of “unconditional dialogue” and would also seek release of detained youths. “We have recommended that (release of youth) in our first report only. When we talked to the Chief Minister of the State, we placed that issue before her as well. We hope there is action on that very soon,” he said, adding, “we have recommended unconditional talks in our first report and we would again recommend it vociferously.”
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