* Appeal should go to Kashmiris from heart: Azad
Excelsior Correspondent/ PTI
NEW DELHI, Aug 10: Sharing the pain of the suffering Kashmiris, Parliament today unanimously appealed to people of the Valley to restore peace and harmony even as the Government expressed readiness to hold talks with moderate groups and others and decided to call an all-party meet on Friday.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread “deliberately”.
He also promised to consider sending an all-party delegation to Kashmir, responding to demands made in the Rajya Sabha which discussed the “prevailing situation” in the valley for over six hours.
Singh, while asserting that he was speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said an all-party meeting will be held here on Friday on the Kashmir situation. It will be attended by the Prime Minister.
While replying to the debate during which demands were made for stopping the use of pellet guns, Singh said instructions have been issued to security forces to exercise “maximum restraint” but there will be no compromise on national security and pro-Pakistan slogans on the Indian soil will not be tolerated in any case.
With regard to dialogue with Pakistan, he said any talks on Kashmir will be about the territories under the occupation of that country.
“No power on earth can snatch Kashmir from us,” he declared, while referring to letter of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the UN seeking ‘plebiscite’ in Kashmir.
At the end of the debate in which 29 members from across the political spectrum spoke, the Rajya Sabha unanimously adopted a resolution, saying: “This House expresses its serious concern over the prolonged turbulence, violence and curfew in the Kashmir valley.”
It added that the House “conveys its deep sense of anguish and concern over the loss of lives and critical injuries caused by the deteriorating situation.”
The resolution asserted that the House “is of the firm and considered view that while there cannot be any compromise on national security, it is equally an imperative that urgent steps are taken to restore order and peace for the alleviation of the sufferings of the people.”
The House “earnestly appeals to all sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir, to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony and unanimously resolves to restore the confidence among the people in general and youth in particular,” it said.
Responding to demands for initiating a political process in Kashmir, the Home Minister said the Government is ready to have talks with mainstream parties, moderates and others. “We are ready. I will ask the Chief Minister where to start the process and with whom to talk, on which issues,” he added.
“We will also talk, you also talk, we all are ready to talk. That is why there is talk of sending all-party delegation.. Once the ground work is done, then we will talk to the Chief Minister that if the delegation has to go, whom all to meet there,” he said.
Singh referred to the remarks made by the Prime Minister about ‘Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat’ yesterday while invoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said the Government is walking on that path.
“We have decided that on August 12, we will hold an all-party meeting at 12 pm soon after the Parliament session ends and the Prime Minister will be present,” he said.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad referred to the word going round in Kashmir that the valley will be handed over to the Army after the completion of Amarnath Yatra next week.
“We can’t even think of it. These rumours are being spread deliberately. Nowadays, anything can be said on social media,” Rajnath Singh replied.
“Whatever is happening in Kashmir is not because of people of Kashmir. Whatever is happening is Pakistan-sponsored,” he said.
He lauded Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, saying she and her Government had done a good job in this difficult situation. In this regard, he gave details about how much ration, milk and other daily essentials have been distributed in Kashmir even during the curfew.
He insisted that only some parts of Kashmir, and not the entire valley, are under curfew and that in rest of the places, markets are closed due to “fear” owing to strike called by separatists.
“I can’t say Kashmris are living normal life but despite all odds, State Government is making efforts to minimise their inconvenience,” Singh said.
He blamed “vested interests” for the trouble and said the State Government was trying to normalise the situation.
Responding to demands for stopping use of pellet guns which have caused most injuries, the Home Minister said such weapons were not used for the first time but earlier also.
“I am not justifying its use by arguing that these were used earlier also,” he said, adding he had reviewed the situation to explore other options. A committee has been formed in this regard which has been asked to give report in two months, he added.
He said instructions have been issued to the security forces to exercise “maximum restraint” and added that because of this, 4515 security personnel have suffered injuries compared to 3356 civilians.
Giving details of the injuries caused during the unrest that started after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, he said 100 were still hospitalised, 51 with eye injuries, while 2564 have been discharged.
“The people of Kashmir should realise that our hearts beat equally for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh (three regions of the state), as any other part of the country,” the Home Minister said.
Responding to questions by some members as to why the Prime Minister had spoken outside and not in Parliament, Singh said he “has made me the Home Minister and I have rights. He has confidence in me and whatever I say reflects the same sentiments as his.”
Contending that he keeps discussing the Kashmir issue with Modi, Singh said, “one can feel his (PM’s) sentiments by what he said yesterday (in Madhya Pradesh).”
Suggesting the gravity of the situation, Singh said 100 ambulances were damaged due to stone-pelting, despite which 400 ambulances are still working.
The Home Minister said even during curfew, hospitals have treated five lakh normal patients in OPDs and 8,000 surgeries were conducted. Some of the injured were brought to AIIMS in Delhi and another hospital in Mumbai.
Rejecting the notion that the trouble in Kashmir is because of unemployment, Singh noted that at times, flags of ISIS and pro-Pakistan slogans are raised in Kashmir.
He condemned ISIS, saying it is anti-Muslim and has killed those believing in Islam. “I want to tell people of Kashmir that Islam does not allow killings. Those who raise such ISIS flags are trying to defame Islam,” he said.
“Pro-Pakistan slogans will not be tolerated on this soil… Raising slogans against the country is not right. I want to appeal to people to stop those indulging in such things,” Singh said.
He said somebody may praise Islam, Hinduism or any religion but raising slogans praising Pakistan won’t be allowed.
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants are trying to threaten the families of security forces, the Home Minister said.
Talking about “effective” steps taken by the State Government, he said these include recruitment in central paramilitary forces and 10,000 as Special Police Officers.
Besides two AIIMS and IIM are being set up and scholarships are being distributed.
With regard to security of Kashmiris studying in other parts of the country, the Home Minister said he will write to all state CMs and tell them, if necessary, develop a system of building relationship between locals and Kashmiris.
Singh praised all parties for speaking in unison on Kashmir during the “high quality” discussion, saying it reflects the spirit of healthy democracy.
“In 20 years, I have seen for the first time such a lengthy discussion on Kashmir… We should be proud of such a Parliament,” he said.
Intervening in the debate, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh said the all party meeting being advocated by the Opposition parties including the Congress sound a good idea but pointed finger at the Congress saying he has a question to ask the party as to why it didn’t meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh when he was in Srinagar for two days on July 23 and 24.
“No body is adverse to the all party meetings. It is a very good idea. But Congress owed an explanation as to despite repeated messages sent to the party, it didn’t come to meet the Home Minister in Srinagar. In Srinagar, they didn’t meet the Home Minister but in New Delhi, they want an all party meeting to discuss Kashmir,” Dr Singh said, adding it clearly gave indications that Congress speaks one language in Jammu, second in Kashmir and third in New Delhi.
Dr Jitendra Singh, who represents Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat in J&K, took strong exception to the “strange logic” given by some political parties that problems have cropped up in Kashmir due to BJP coming to the power.
Dr Singh, whose speech was heard with attention and almost pin-drop silence by several veterans in the Rajya Sabha, said the trouble in the Valley started on July 8 after the killing of Burhan Wani while the BJP was in power since March 2015.
“If the trouble was due to the BJP, why it didn’t spread for more than one year when the BJP was in power”?, he asked.
In fact, the MoS in PMO said, he had a counter argument as it was the Congress, which was in power with National Conference and PDP from 1990 to 2015.
“If Congress enters into the power, it is right but if BJP joins the coalition, it is wrong. What kind of logic it is”?, he asked.
Referring to the talks on Kashmir, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is first a big question as to whom the Government should talk.
“Hurriyat Conference at the most is a civil society, which has never contested any election. Further, can we have a Kashmir without presence of the Kashmiri Pandits. Even if the Kashmiri Pandits were living outside, they have a right to be stake holder. The West Pakistani refugees, the PoJK refugees, Jammu, Ladakh and Sikhs are all stake holders in the talks,” Dr Singh said.
Asserting that he didn’t want to go into the statistics, Dr Singh observed that it wouldn’t be fair to match the statistics but the fact is that more than 100 people were killed in 2010 unrests in the Valley and biggest ever Shri Amarnath Ji land agitation happened in 2008 when Leader of Opposition (Ghulam Nabi Azad) was the Chief Minister of the State. As Azad intervened, Dr Singh reminded him that he had resigned then.
Attacking Kashmiri separatist leaders for instigating youth to lay down their lives in the name of ‘Jihad’, Dr Singh questioned why did they not show their children the “way to ‘Jannat” but send them to safe havens.
“If ‘Jihad’ is so sacred and guarantees a place in ‘Jannat’ then why the separatists have sent their children to places like Mumbai and Bangalore or abroad. Children are getting killed (in Kashmir). Most of the children killed belong to the poorest of the poor sections. Those who have motivated such children in the name of ‘Jihad’ have their children in India’s metros and safe havens,” Dr Singh said.
Rejecting popular perception that the Kashmiri youth is misguided and harboured anti-India sentiments and should be debarred from access to internet, Singh said “the youth of Kashmir wants to be the beneficiary of India’s success story. I am not sure whether to debar them …Let them get exposed” to internet and Facebook.
“Time has come to rise above politics and face inconvenient truth …Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and whatever be the relationship …In 1994 Congress unanimously resolved it… The matter ended there.”
He said the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir says it is an integral part of India. “The point is that every nation at some point of time has drawn a bottom line as to so far and not more,” he said, adding “the problem with India is we do not close chapters…We dig dead bodies as per convenience.”
“Do we need another resolution after that of 1994…”, he said and demanded whom should India talk to and quoted former Prime Minsiter Indira Gandhi that “you cannot shake hands with clench fists.”
Earlier, Congress today raised questions over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about ‘insaniyat’, ‘jamhooriyat’ and ‘Kashmiriyat’ and said appeal should go out to Kashmiris from the “heart” rather than “lips” only to enable “integration of minds and heart”.
As the Rajya Sabha took up a discussion on the prevailing situation in Kashmir, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad pitched for sending an all-party delegation to the valley besides an appeal by Parliament for end to violence which is being witnessed there for the last 33 days.
“We should appeal for peace and tranquility from here for better future of Kashmir. This kind of unison voice should go from Parliament. That apart, an all-party delegation should go there,” the Congress leader said, adding the announcement regarding it should be made immediately as the session is coming to an end in two days.
Initiating the discussion, Azad said criticised the Prime Minister for his “delayed” comments on the Kashmir situation and said even those were made at a rally in Madhya Pradesh rather than in Parliament.
“We are discussing the Kashmir issue for the fourth time. The Prime Minister should come. The Prime Minister chose Madhya Pradesh to speak on Kashmir. He did not come to this House,” he said, adding “Since when has Madhya Pradesh become the capital of the country?”
Azad took a swipe on Modi regarding his statement on ‘Insaniyat (humanity), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmriyat, saying such statements only suited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“Such words sound weird if it comes from someone who does not believe in them,” he said.
The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir said such words should come from the “heart” and not only from the lips.
Referring to the oft-repeated assertion that “Kashmir is integral part of India”, Azad said there should also be “integration of minds and hearts”.
“…We are not feeling the love and affection, pain and agony, else the statement would not have come from Madhya Pradesh,” the Congress leader said in an apparent reference to Modi’s comments made at a rally yesterday.
“If it comes from the heart, it will reach Kashmir. It is mere lip-service and hence will not reach Kashmir,” he said.
Azad said while Modi keeps sitting in his room in Parliament since morning to evening, he did not make any statement on Kashmir during the past three discussions on the issue in the House.
Azad said violence has increased in the valley ever since BJP has come to power in alliance with PDP, remarks which triggered a brief uproar as ruling party members reacted sharply.
He said successive governments have fought against militancy in the vallecy, but “perhaps you give statements for votes. You have only been indulging in fuelling the fire and not dousing it. Since the day you came to power, Kashmir is on fire…I don’t want to go into reasons”.
As members of the treasury benches objected to it leading to an uproar, Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley said the situation in Kashmir is “sensitive” and “therefore it is imperative, as far as possible, we speak in one voice”.
He urged members from all sides not to touch historical issues where “we have difference of opinion.. This is not the occasion to discuss those issues.. Members should speak from the national point of view.
The Congress leader from the troubled state asserted that while there is an issue of separatism, “Kashmir is not communal, it is secular. There is a difference between seperatism and communalism.”
Higlighting that Kashmir is a “complex issue”, Azad said politics comes first, economic developement at second place followed by employment.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Azad said, “He tweets if something happens in Africa. Even if something happens in our enemy country, Pakistan, he issues condemnation. It is not wrong to show sympathy if humanity is hurt anywhere in the world. But in our own country, when the ‘Crown of India’ is burning, does the heat not reach…He should have spoken.”
Citing media reports, he said Modi spoke on Kashmir on insistance of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. “Had the CM not spoken. Even today, PM would not have spoken,” he added.
Referring to Modi’s comment that all Indians love Kashmir, the Congress leader said, “One should not love Kashmir for its beauty and nature alone. One should love people out there as well.”
“Love the people who live there. Love the children who lost their vision due to pellet injuries…,” he said while insisting on a political solution.
Talking about the 33-day-old unrest, Azad said things are not flowing from democracy but through the barrel of “guns, pellet guns”.
He said there has been curfew for the last 33 days and thousands of people including civilians and security forces have been injured in the violence.
The problem in Kashmir is not a “normal law and order issue” like in any other state, Azad said, while underlining that the Centre should come forward to help the state as it is dependent on New Delhi for everything, including security, development and even salaries.
While talking about the continuing problem of Kashmir, he said a lot needs to be done to strengthen the relationship between the Centre and the state.
He wondered what happened to reports of various committees, including one headed by late Justice Shabir Ahmed, which made several recommendations for strengthening the integration.
“The report was submitted in 2009-10. Still nothing has been done,” he said.
Earlier, Azad associated himself with the views of BSP leader Satish Mishra on Dalit issue and took a jibe on the Prime Minister for making statement on the issue from Telangana and not in Parliament.
Shamsher Singh Manhas, a BJP member from Jammu and Kashmir, criticised Azad, saying instead of talking about the real problems of Kashmir, he spent most of his time on criticising the Prime Minister.
He said he felt that pain of Kashmiris who were suffering as he contended that only a handful of people of the valley are playing in the hands of separatists.
Referring to the contention that the trouble in Kashmir is because of unemployment, Manhas said youth in Jammu and Ladakh, two other regions of the state, are also unemployed but they have not picked up guns and raised anti-India slogans.
“Jammu shares 500 km border with Pakistan. Everyday Pakistan does one or the other thing. …55 per cent of population of the State lives in Jammu. More than 7 lakh youth are unemployed. Could they not have picked up the gun? Could not they have raised anti-India slogans? There is a difference between nationalism and separatism,” he said.
Manhas said the same was true for Ladakh region.
To stress his point that only handful of people are influenced by separatists, he said 61 per cent of people voted in elections, which proves they have faith in democracy.
Insisting that locals in the Valley would have to fight the menace, Manhas said, “What is the reason behind turmoil? We should go into reasons.”
Talking about the incidents of stone-pelting, the BJP leader wanted to know from where stones come and who provides them to youth. He said huge amount is spent on stone pelting.
He said the Modi government had taken a number of initiatives over the last two years, including announcement of a package of Rs 80,000 crore and decisions to set up institutions like AIIMS, IIT, IIM.
“Entire Kashmir is not in turmoil. You have Gujjars….. they are living peacefully. Separatists are creating entire turmoil. …Handful of people are working on behest of separatists. Kashmir is not burning,” he said.
He said Modi is following former Prime Minister Vajpayee’s path for development of Kashmir.
“Every effort is made for development of J&K. Our government is constantly on the job,” he said.
He also questioned Azad as to why people who came from West Pakistan in 1947 have not been given citizenship of India even though Congress ruled the country for nearly 55 years.
The BJP member called upon political parties to sit together and find a solution to the problem.
Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav targeted Pakistan and “poison is being injected in the hearts and minds of the people” of Kashmir and that “no solution will be effective till the time the source of this venom is blocked”.
He said the central government has been extending many facilities and the highest per capita support to Kashmir but it is not proving to be effective because of this poisoning.
He sought to trace the problem to “some past mistakes” including partition and failure to extract strong commitments from Pakistan after India’s victories in the wars of 1965 and 1971.
“A number of princely states had become a part of India under Sardar Patel but Kashmir was handled by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru,” Yadav noted and suggested that the country was suffering because of it now.
He pointed out that Nehru had approached the UN in 1947 even when Indian forces were pushing back Pakistani troops from Kashmir.
“Had Nehru waited for a few more days before going to UN Security Council when Indian forces were repulsing Pakistan army-backed raiders from what is now Pak-occupied Kashmir, these areas would have been with India,” he said.
He said even during the 1965 war, when Indian army had reached the doorstep of Lahore, or during the 1971 war when thousands of Pakistani troops surrendered, “we could not ensure a situation where the neighbouring country would no longer foment trouble”.
Yadav said Pakistan is misleading the youth in Kashmir by showing them mirages. The people of that country want good relations but Pakistan army wants to keep tension on to keep a grip on Pakistan, he said.
He also referred to Pakistan TV, which glorifies and encourages terrorism, and can be seen in Kashmir and asked the government why it is not being blocked.
“A terrorist was killed by our forces on July 8 and look at what happened… Pakistan will always try to create trouble in Indian affairs. Till the time Pakistan is not taught a lesson, the Kashmir problem can’t be solved,” Yadav said.
He questioned why India does not raise the issue of Pakistan returning Kashmir occupied by it as he noted that Pakistan has ceded parts of that territory ‘Aksai Chin’ to China.
In his speech, Yadav also asserted that the use of pellet guns must be discontinued. He said if there is a compulsion to use force, other measures should be taken.
A Navaneethkrishnan (AIADMK) said even though he comes from Tamil Nadu, he believes that he belongs to Kashmir and Kashmir belongs to him. He referred to movies, featuring Kashmir, in which his party leaders had acted.
Derek O Brien (TMC) began by stressing that Pakistan should not “meddle” in India’s affairs.
Comparing India and Pakistan, he said while O’Briens living in India enjoy freedom, the arm of the family which had chosen Pakistan at the time of partition have vanished.
O’Brien referred to Prime Minister’s remarks that young persons should have books, laptops and bats and not stones and said if the right steps are not taken, they may throw those things as well.
“It is one thing to be in opposition and play ‘Rambo’ and another to be in government with peace and serenity that governance requires,” he said.
He emphasised on focussing not just on Kashmir but on the people of Kashmir.
Speaking about the use of pellet guns, O’Brien said that government has given figures as per which 6 people had died in 2010 and 3 in 2016 because of their use.
“We need to go beyond statistics,” he said, adding talking about lesser figures is like saying we have committed a smaller sin.
He said the committee on pellet guns has been given two months’ time, when it should have been given only two days.
The TMC MP also said that with greater internet penetration, the situation is changing as opinion is being shaped on the web. Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani, whose killing triggered the unrest, could be more dangerous on the internet than he was on the street, he said.
He said the government has repeatedly blocked internet in the valley and it was so even when Home Minister tweeted his appeal. He, however, emphasised that government cannot get young people on its side by blocking the internet.
JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said different states in the past ave faced turmoil but the country has successfully dealt with these challenges.
He said a resolution should be passed to let the people of J&K know that the entire country is with them in difficult times.
He also spoke against the use of pellet guns. “They are our own people and we should bring them back,” he said.
Yadav also expressed concern about the impact of curfew on the life of daily wage earners.
CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said: “I rise with a degree of agony, anxiety and anger on what is happening in the Kashmir valley. Why this agony and pain continues unrelenting?”
Contending that there is trust deficit among the people due to a “string of betrayals”, he said, “There is a need to address the trust deficit in the valley. Why are the people alienated? We have to address this question.”
Yechury said there is a need to start political dialogue and send an all-party delegation to the valley to assure the people that the country is with them.
“What is preventing this government from initiating a political dialogue,” he questioned while stressing on stopping the use of pellet guns.
Dilip Tirkey (BJD) too stressed on starting a political dialogue as well as sending an all party delegation to the valley.
He said there is a need for a “healing touch” and the need of the hour is “dialogue” and not “force”.
Munquad Ali (BSP) stressed on providing medicines, food and essential items to the people suffering due to curfew for 33 days.
D P Tripathi (NCP) questioned the delay by the government in holding an all-party meeting on Kashmir and on sending an all-party delegation to the valley.
Quoting a couplet from a poem by famous Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya to describe the Kashmir situation, he said: “This valley of death is not my country, this platform to eulogise hang-mens is not my country, this sprawling cemetery is not my country, this butcher house bathed in blood is not my country. This is the situation in Kashmir.”
He said the treatment meted out to Kashmiri students studying in various parts of the country needs to be probed.
He called for the government to consider the recommendations made by the Working Group, which was set up during the time of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Nominated member Swapan Dasgupta said the protests and ensuing violence has a “degree of premeditation on part of several people”.
Calling to address the issue of “emotional schism” in Kashmir, Dasgupta said what form of political approach should be taken and when is the “pertinent” question.
It is important to also note that “false propaganda” is being fueled from across the border, he said.
KTS Tulsi (Nominated) said Sikhs in Kashmir, including four lakh in the Valley, are insecure and required government’s support, while Pratap Singh Bajwa (Cong) said “Punjab will only be peaceful when Kashmir is peaceful.
D Raja (CPI) said “Parliament cannot be a mute spectator when Kashmir is bleeding” and urged the Prime minister to come to Parliament and speak on such crucial issues.
Noting that Article 370 was being questioned time and again by those in power, Raja said “it is not a question of religion … It is time to deescalate and initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders in J&K. It is time to stop use of pellet guns. With the might of security forces we cannot win the hearts of people. AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) should be reviewed.”
He also said the Government will have to engage with China and Pakistan. Referring to BJP’s Subramanian Swamy’s tweet advocating imposition of President’s rule in Kashmir, Raja cautioned “not to resort to such adventurism”.
He said the Army should be removed from civilian areas and urged the Government to start a dialogue with all stakeholders in the peace process “including separatists”.
Mir Mohammad Fayad J&K (PDP) termed the prevailing situation in Kashmir as “very serious”. “Whom are we going to speak to, that is the question. There are secessionists, separatists why should we speak to them?”
He also said “perhaps we have also indulged in excesses and now people of Kashmir are facing repercussions. … Afzal Guru was sentenced to hanging by the Supreme Court. SC’s ruling has to be implemented. But in Kashmir the talk is that in other parts of the country, there were people who had committed similar crimes… Why was he (Afzal) hanged first?”
He said this issue of “differential treatment” is being questioned by people of Jammu and Kashmir, noting that “this is a good point for people who want to spoil the atmosphere”.
Fayad said there are cries of freedom being heard in every lane of Kashmir, as the “promises we made to the people there have not been fulfilled”.
Vivek Tankha (Cong) said claimed there was no communalism or separatism in Kashmir. On Kashmiri Pandits, he said it was Kashmiris who saved them, noting that “it was a Pakistani conspiracy due to which Kashmiri Pandits had to migrate”.
Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe (BJP) said “secession and division” were being promoted in Kashmir and alleged that Burhan Wani had tweeted celebrating the death of a soldier. “We cannot tolerate this.”
K Keshava Rao (TRS) asked the Government to factor in the “Chinese angle” in the issue and said too much dependence on the US was not good as America’s stand was “ambivalent” on the issue.
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