Says peace can be achieved in Kashmir by talking to stakeholders
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday demanded immediate steps to end the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and outsiders from Kashmir and asked the government to engage with stakeholders to restore normalcy in the troubled Valley.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha said the government should formulate its own policy to restore normalcy in the Union Territory, which is troubled by a series of targeted terrorist killings.
Underlining the need for greater sensitivity towards the people of Kashmir, he said, normalcy and peace cannot be brought there through propaganda. He said that much more politician is needed to solve the Kashmir issue, which is lacking at present.
“People are being killed in offices and even government offices are not safe. Please take them (pandits and outsiders) to safer places immediately and make security arrangements around them.”
Calling for immediate steps to stop the killings, Tankha said those affected should be taken into confidence so that they feel safe.
“The government must secure all the affected people and their offices … and this has to be done in the next 24 hours, because we do not want to hear that more innocent are killed,” he said.
Describing the unity of the country as the most important, Tankha said that the vulnerable people should be provided with adequate protection and security so that they do not have to move out of Kashmir.
“Don’t let there be migration from Kashmir as it is not good for Kashmir nor in the interest of the country. Through this appeal I hope that the central government will come out clearly and prepare a roadmap to restore peace and normalcy in Kashmir,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Tankha said the issue of Kashmir is complex and it is unfortunate that the state lacks skill in addressing it.
“Kashmir problem is bigger than any law. You have to look at Kashmir as a whole, you cannot see it subtly.
“I said during the debate in Parliament that Kashmir is bigger than Article 370. Article 370 is a law that has been diluted, but Kashmir is a bigger issue than 370 and you need a lot more politicians to address it, Which was lacking,” he noted.
He also demanded that the government should provide compensation to those killed while performing their official duties.
“If you want peace, if you want harmony, you have to address the stakeholders. You cannot achieve peace in Kashmir without talking to the stakeholders, and history speaks. I have not seen any such attempt in Kashmir… What I have seen is that you thought of solving Kashmir through propaganda.
“If things could be sorted out through propaganda, Hitler would have won the world. Propaganda is good, but to a limited extent, only as a means of reaching… it cannot be the basis of peace,” Congress said the leader.
Tankha said that what is happening in Kashmir now is the killing of not only Kashmiri Pandits but also outsiders working in the Kashmir Valley.
Citing figures, he said that there are around 10,000 outsiders working in the Kashmir Valley and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure their safety.
He said that Kashmiri Pandits and outsiders are living in fear and want to go out of the Valley.
The Congress spokesperson said that the BJP government cannot blame past incidents for the current situation in the Union Territory.
Kashmir has been boiling over the past few days following targeted terrorist killings including Pandits and outsiders.
Scores of Kashmiri Pandits working under the Prime Minister’s Package in 2012 have been protesting and threatening to flee since the killing of government employee Rahul Bhat on May 12 in Chadoora area of Budgam district. Since then many more locations have been targeted by terrorists.
