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Trifurcation of Kashmir not a solution: Digvijay

Staff Reporter

‘CM needs to spend more time within J&K'

“Political will required to find a solution to the problems of the people of Kashmir”
“Need to denotify those areas where militancy is no longer prevalent”

NEW DELHI: Trifurcation of Kashmir is not a solution, nor is engaging those who do not want a resolution within the Constitution of India, said Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh here on Friday.

Speaking at a public meeting on Kashmir, Mr. Singh, who took a dig at the State Government for failing to win the confidence of the local people, said “political will” is required to find a solution to the outstanding problems of the people of Kashmir. The Congress leader said by participating in the elections the people of Kashmir have offered both the Central and the State government a chance to build contact with the people.

“We often keep hearing that the Chief Minister takes holidays over the weekend and comes to Delhi, he is young and needs to spend more time within Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister needs to show more political will, the Government still has 2-3 years to go and they now need people to people contact.”

Describing himself as an “optimist”, Mr. Singh said questions need to be asked about why those who do not believe in the Constitution are given more importance than those who believe in it and why fundamentalism has not been contained still. “Trifurcation is not a solution, integration is, winning confidence is important. We also need to denotify those areas where militancy is no longer prevalent and that would be a confidence building measure,” he said.

‘Act fast'

Referring to Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to migrate from the Valley, he said; “Why were the Pandits kept out (of the Valley) for so long. There is a need to be sensitive towards them and Hindu minorities in the State need to be protected too just as other minorities are elsewhere.”

Speaking at the public meeting organised by Anhad, Rajya Sabha MP and CPI member D. Raja cautioned that unless the Government acts fast, India too could witness a movement that occurred in Argentina where women with missing children eventually led to the fall of a dictator government.

He also drew attention to the “neglect” of Ladakh by pointing out that the Government is yet to sanction a sum of under Rs.34 crore that the Ladakh Autonomous Council has sought for infrastructure development. He also criticized the Public Safety Act, currently in place in Kashmir, and said it is being used to “arrest people arbitrarily.”

Member of the J&K Assembly Yusuf Tarigami said the people of Kashmir need to be treated with respect and their human rights protected. He said between India and Pakistan, both of whom offered bullets to Kashmiris instead of addressing their concerns, the innocent common man ended up suffering.

‘Treat with respect'

A few residents from Kashmir also spoke about their experiences of living under the shadow of the gun and heavy security force presence. Parveena Ahangar, president of the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons, lamented how successive governments have failed to secure relief for the families of the thousands who are missing. She said her own son went missing 21 years ago and till date she has neither received any help from the Government or from the judiciary.

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