* Ill advised ideas must be rejected: Jaitley
NEW DELHI, Jan 6:
A controversy erupted today over AAP leader Prashant Bhushan’s comments on deployment of Army in Jammu and Kashmir which were slammed by parties across the political divide even as his party attempted to control damage.
Aam Aadmi Party Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal distanced himself from Bhushan’s remarks, saying the deployment of Army within the country should be decided on the basis of internal security threat.
Bhushan had said that deployment of military in Jammu and Kashmir should be undertaken with the consent of people of the State.
The remarks were flayed by parties like BJP and Congress. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also said there was no need for a referendum on such issues.
“Such ill-advised ideas must always be rejected outrightly. They can only disturb India’s security environment and a disturbed environment disturbs politics, it disturbs sovereignty and it disturbs economy,” BJP leader Arun Jaitley said.
Hitting out at AAP, he said it was “regrettable” that a party with national ambitions was adopting a position similar to that of Pakistan and the separatists hostile to India’s interests.
Asserting that issues of national security cannot be decided by populism or referendum, he hoped that sensible elements in AAP will seek to reverse this “soft” stand, otherwise “the slope downwards will be faster than the movement upwards”.
Congress leader Ambika Soni also hit out at Bhushan saying such issues have “repercussions and fallouts which you can’t imagine”.
She expressed surprise at the “flippant manner” in which Bhushan voiced his views pertaining to the sensitive state.
Abdullah said, “Reduction of the footprint of security forces & phased revocation of AFSPA doesn’t need a referendum, just a courageous statesman to decide. Governments get a mandate to govern & decide, they don’t need to conduct a referendum before every tricky decision. Leaders must lead.”
Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said that AAP should “wake up to the reality that they are a political party” and “no longer an NGO or commentators”.
He said AAP has “pan-India ambitions” and its leaders should be careful in making statements.
“We are dealing with a very sensitive issue. When everyone agrees that the presence of Army has been critical in controlling terrorism, I advise AAP that they should realise that they cannot be irresponsible and make such statements,” he said.
BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked AAP saying this is its first national agenda with a “separatist mindset” and cautioned against “other things to come” from it.
He said referendum is the first step which will followed by demands for a separate Jammu and Kashmir. “The separatists are making such demands with a ‘jihadi’ mindset, but the same thing is being said with a ‘gentle face’ by AAP,” he said.
Jaitley pointed out that Bhushan had two years ago suggested a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir where people must be free to decide whether they wish to stay with India or otherwise.
The BJP leader said after much difficulty the issue of plebiscite which was internationalised by Pakistan was linked to the territory wrongfully occupied by Pakistan and today it is no longer a part of either the international agenda, a United Nations process or even the Indo-Pak bilateral talks.
He said de-militarisation of the Valley can take place only after elimination of terrorism and dismantling of terrorist infrastructure. “The Army presence till then is necessary to protect both the territory and the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.
The BJP leader said defence of India is a subject exclusively in the Central Government’s domain, as it is neither a State subject nor a subject to be handled at the municipal level.
Dismissing Bhushan’s comment, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that one should not “comment on a matter not well versed in” as it creates more confusion than solution.
He said he has “immense respect” for AAP but when someone gets success all of a sudden then he thinks himself as an Alexander, who will conquer the whole world.
“They must go very slow. There are certain issues which have national and international implications. So many people talking about Kashmir without knowing anything about it. My advice is this creates more confusion than solution,” he told reporters here.
“After so many sacrifices of our soldiers, police personnel, we have almost got rid of militancy there. So my humble request is please don’t comment on issues on which we are not well versed,” said Azad while reacting to Bhushan’s comment that there should be referendum on Army’s presence in Kashmir.
The Army was called in when the police and administration failed to tackle the situation and it had been done in Maharashtra, Gujarat and some other States, he said.
“So there is nothing new if such situation arises in J&K too and Army is being called in,” said Azad, a former Chief Minister of J&K.
BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi today said Bhushan’s statement is in the same vein as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s remarks that India and Pakistan had almost reached an agreement on Kashmir when Pervez Musharraf was President.
“PM’s recent address that hinted at a solution to the Kashmir problem was probably an acceptance of Pakistan’s proposal of ‘open’ borders in Kashmir- a Pak ploy to merge Kashmir with Pak’,” Lekhi said.
“In the background of such a remark, the recent rhetoric of Bhushan on the Kashmir issue is reflective of a collusion that is taking place yet again between the two political parties,” she added.
Describing AAP’s decision to seek Congress support to form a Government in Delhi as “political hypocrisy”, BJP said AAP and Congress have raked up this issue as Lok Sabha elections are round the corner. “They seem to have a hidden agenda in mind,” Lekhi said.
The right-wing party condemned Bhushan’s statement and underlined that there can be no compromise on the issue.
Lekhi emphasised that the 1994 resolution of Parliament that Kashmir, including PoK, are an integral part of India.
Reacting to Bhushan’s statement that there should be referendum in Kashmir on whether the Army should be removed from the Valley, she said “the security forces should decide on withdrawal of forces.”
Lekhi made the point that after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban is shifting its base to Punjab in Pakistan and in such a scenario, whether Army should stay in Kashmir or not cannot be decided by those “sitting on the fringes”.
BJP alleged the plebiscite being talked about by Bhushan is against the stated policy of the country.
“If India is repeating the open border policy of Pakistan and there is a talk of referendum by AAP, we condemn it and take strong objection to it. Congress and AAP seem to be synergising with each other,” Lekhi said.
BJP maintained that the suggestion of troop withdrawal from Kashmir holds little significance as long as “Jehadi infrastructure” exists across the border.
On the Prime Minister’s remarks about almost reaching a pact with Pakistan on Kashmir, Lekhi said “It is believed that India was under tremendous pressure from international quarters as it had promised Pakistan leadership the same in exchange of Pakistan’s cooperation on Afghanistan.”
She claimed these external quarters have been prevailing on India on not taking punitive measures against cross-border terrorism and Pakistan’s provocation across the LoC.
“It is with this aim that Government was encouraging withdrawal of Indian troops from Siachen. This is a gift promised by international benefactors of Pakistan in the post- Afghanistan pullout phase,” Lekhi said.
“PM may be under tremendous pressure from international quarters to deliver on this score but he dare not play with the will of the people of India,” she added.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party today distanced itself from the views of its senior leader Prashant Bhushan that a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the Army to deal with security threats in the Valley.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said decisions on internal security are taken based on the law and order situation and there cannot have referendum on deployment of the army in Kashmir.
“Deployment of the Army within the country should be decided on the basis of internal security threat. There is no question of a referrundum on this. But we believe the sentiments of locals should be respected. Otherwise democracy will be under threat,” he told reporters when asked about Bhushan’s comments on the issue yesterday.
He said, “AAP does not support referendum on such issues.”
Meanwhile, Under fire for his remarks on Army deployment in Jammu and Kashmir, Bhushan today sought to wriggle out by saying any reference to referendum should not misconstrue to mean plebiscite on Kashmir’s relationship with India.
In a “clarification” statement issued by the party on behalf of Bhushan stated “Aam Aadmi Party is of view that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Needless to say, I share this view.
“Any reference to referendum should not misconstrue to mean plebiscite on Kashmir’s relationship with India.”
In his statement, Bhushan said although it was upon the Government to deploy forces anywhere in the country this should be done by taking people’s view in consideration and this was his view of participatory governance and Swaraj.
“It is the prerogative of the State to deploy security forces, including armed forces for any stretch to internal and external security. This prerogative must be exercised in the best interest of the people, and as far as possible, with their consent,” he said. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel