Srinagar, April 20: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice-President, Mohammad Sartaj Madni today said while it is a welcome move by Congress to constitute Dr Manmohan Singh-led Policy-Planning Group on Jammu & Kashmir, “but the question is what did Congress do to address the issues concerning the State when it was in power at the Centre for a decade between 2004 and 2014.”
“Mr P Chidambaram, who is a part of the Policy-Planning Group on J&K, was the Union Home Minister during 2010 unrest. What tangible measures did he take at that time to address the distress and alienation of Kashmiri youth,” Mr Madni said in a statement.
He said as unfortunately as Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh couldn’t take any tangible measures to build on and expand the intra and inter-state Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) initiated by the then NDA Government headed by Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “The hope for peace and stability in the State which was generated by the CBMs initiated by Mr Vajpayee in 2003 waned due to the failure of the successive Congress Governments at the Centre, leading to fresh wave of disenchantment and alienation in Kashmir,” he said and added that if that Confidence Building Process would have been carried forward, the situation would have been entirely different in Kashmir today.
“If Congress couldn’t do anything on Kashmir when it was in power at the Centre between 2004 and 2014, what can the party do now?,” he said and added nevertheless if the party has taken a fresh initiative on Kashmir, let’s hope it positively contributes in the Government’s efforts to find a way out of the present imbroglio and facilitates movement forward for permanent settlement of the political and economic issues confronting the State. CNS
