*Core Group holds 3-hour brainstorming session
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held high-level review of Jammu and Kashmir situation in the three-hour long Core Group meeting of the BJP, which was attended by five senior Union Ministers apart from top party functionaries including national president Amit Shah. A roadmap for restoration of peace and normalcy in the Kashmir valley, which has been shattered since July last year, was discussed and was likely to be announced in the next few days.
Sources told the Excelsior that the three-hour meeting from 3 pm to 6 pm at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi, the official residence of the Prime Minister, threadbare discussed all aspects of the situation and steps required to control the situation and restore peace in the Valley, where protests and stone-pelting incidents by the youths have become order of the day.
The Pakistan role in instigating trouble in the Valley also came up for a high-level discussion.
The Core Group meeting, the highest decision making body of the party, was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Housing and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, BJP president Amit Shah, BJP general secretary (Incharge Organization Jammu and Kashmir) Ram Lal and general secretary, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir Affairs, Ram Madhav.
Sources said the Prime Minister took assessment and feedback on the Jammu and Kashmir situation from all the Core Group members including the Ministers and BJP leaders, one by one. The feedback included situation prevailing in the Valley and steps that can be taken by the Central Government to restore normalcy in the State and take it on the path of development.
“All aspects including Pakistan’s role, law and order, Government working and administration were reviewed in the meeting,’’ sources said, adding after individual feedback given by all Core Group members, the Prime Minister also posed supplementary questions to them.
They said the latest exercise undertaken by the Prime Minister was aimed at preparing future roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir and the Central Government could come out with a major policy decision to tackle unrest in the sensitive border State very soon.
“Before finalizing the roadmap, the Prime Minister wanted to take view of senior Ministers and BJP leaders especially those, who were dealing with Jammu and Kashmir situation—both politically and administratively, during the past three years of BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre,’’ sources pointed out and said it was brain storming of the BJP to discuss and evolve the Government strategy on Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources disclosed that since it was first ever Government in Jammu and Kashmir in which the BJP was coalition partner with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti led PDP, the BJP wanted to involve the party leadership too along with the Government before arriving at any consensus on dealing with the situation.
According to sources, the Government has also obtained reports from Intelligence agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir, security forces and other available resources on reasons behind the prolonged unrest that had started with Hizbul Mujahideen divisional commander Burhan Wani’s killing in Kashmir. The Centre was deeply concerned over protests and stone pelting and want an end to it, they said.
“The Government has very specific inputs that violence was being instigated by Pakistan and militant commanders, who were instigating youth to indulge in stone pelting on security forces during encounters with the militants to facilitate escape of the militants,’’ sources said, adding that this was very dangerous trend, which has been viewed very seriously by the Centre.
Sources said working of PDP-BJP coalition Government, which has now completed two years, and Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) worth Rs 80,000 crores announced by Modi on November 7, 2015 also figured in the Core Group meeting.
“The Centre wants to ensure that development in Jammu and Kashmir shouldn’t take a back seat in the wake of militancy or unrest in the Valley. At the same time, the Government wants all three regions—Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh to develop equally,’’ they said.
Only yesterday, the Union Home Ministry headed by Rajnath Singh had decided to elicit opinion of Security Experts on Jammu and Kashmir situation. Sources said this process also was likely to be completed very shortly.
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