In power, BJP must find K-solution, says Azad

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 30

Ahead of the all-party delegation visit to the Valley, the Congress today said the BJP could find a “better solution” to the Kashmir issue as the party was in power now.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the BJP, when in the Opposition, would always create impediments whenever the Congress tried to take steps towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

“The BJP can find a better solution because during the time of (former Prime Ministers) Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, whenever we gave a proposal to find out a solution, we faced the maximum opposition from the BJP. They would tell us that we wanted to appease the minorities… we want to appease the Kashmiris and they (BJP) took political advantage in the entire country. Now, they are in power at the Centre as well as the state... they should find a solution,” Azad told reporters after chairing a party meeting here that was attended by senior Congress leaders, including J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president GA Mir.

He said the Congress and other opposition parties “are always with them (BJP)” for finding a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue, which should be worked out within the ambit of the Constitution.

As the all-party delegation headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to arrive here on September 4, Azad hoped that people from all shades of opinion would come forward and talk to the central leaders.

On whether or not the delegation would talk to the separatists, he said: “Can’t say with whom to talk or not…that will be decided by the delegation.”

However, he said there was a need to talk to the “relevant non-mainstream parties”. “The mainstream political parties even otherwise have an opportunity to air their views both in Parliament and their respective Assemblies. But it is the non-mainstream political parties not only in our state but across the country... they normally don’t have any representatives in the Assemblies and Parliament. So we need to talk to non-mainstream political parties and all other stakeholders. We have also said that this is for the state and the Centre to sit together and identify which are the important and relevant non-mainstream parties and stakeholders,” he said.

Even as Azad said it was for the first time that Parliament in its last session had discussed the Kashmir issue “four times in 20 days”, he regretted that the Centre woke up late to defuse the unrest in the Valley that erupted after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

“Had the Government of India acceded to our request on July 18, things would have improved much earlier… maybe the curfew which has been lifted after 51 or 52 days, would have been lifted on the 15th or 16th day. We would not have lost so many lives, we would have not lost so many eyes of young children and so many people, both civilian and security forces, would not have been injured,” he said.