Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI (M), has said that the Union government should adopt a two-pronged strategy to win back the confidence of the people of Kashmir valley and start a political dialogue with all sections, including Hurriyat Conference, to find a permanent solution to the problem.
He told presspersons here on Saturday that the government should be receptive to the grievances of the people of Kashmir valley and immediately stop the use of pellet guns, which has caused loss of life and injury. The government should change its approach on extending the Armed Forces Special Powers Act throughout Kashmir valley and limit its use on areas where there was serious security threat, he said.
Mr. Yechury said the recommendations submitted to the Centre by different study groups during the previous UPA government and the recommendations of the interlocutors committee, which met all stakeholders in Kashmir and visited all 22 districts, were also available with the government. “These recommendations should be implemented to assuage the feelings of people in Kashmir.”
Without holding preliminary talks with all sections of the people, it would be useless to lead an all-party delegation to the troubled valley to find a solution, he said.
Mr. Yechury said that Pakistan was definitely playing a role in fomenting trouble in Kashmir valley and “we are also responsible for creating a conducive situation for Pakistan to create trouble in Kashmir.” He defended Congress leader Ramya on her statement on Pakistan and said: “Branding everybody as anti-nationals by the Sangh Pariwar is wrong.”
Meanwhile, he was non-committal about the party’s continued relations with the Congress, saying the decision to align with the latter and fight elections in West Bengal was taken in the last party congress, which was the highest decision-making body, and any decision to change this would have to be taken at the next congress.
