PM intends to talk to all Kashmir stakeholders, says Mehbooba
TNN Bureau. Updated: 4/25/2017 1:02:29 AM
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NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi intended to hold talks in a "conducive atmosphere" with all stakeholders to bring order to the troubled state.
"Modiji has an intention of holding talks but before that a conducive atmosphere needs to be created," she told reporters after the meeting the Prime Minister at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence.
"Everything is possible if atmosphere is conducive, and there is no way forward without talks," she said.
Mehbooba Mufti apprised the Prime Minister about the latest situation in Jammu & Kashmir.
CM Mehbooba Mufti strongly pleaded for initiating dialogue in Jammu & Kashmir to get the state out of the clouds of uncertainty, violence and bloodshed. She also sought compensation to the state for the losses it is suffering due to the Indus Water Treaty.
Mehbooba Mufti met Modi here to review the worsening security situation as speculations gained momentum about the possibility of Governor's Rule in the state amid allegations that the PDP-BJP coalition government has failed to control law and order in the Kashmir Valley.
The Prime Minister told the CM that in the twin pronged objective of dialogue and development lies the solution to all the problems of the state and all efforts would be made in this regard.
Interacting with media persons after the meeting, Mehbooba said the Prime Minister appears amenable to holding talks with stake holders in a bid to arrest the deteriorating situation in the Valley.
However, she cautioned, that "an atmosphere needs to be created" for a dialogue.
At the meeting, she invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy on Kashmir, and said the thread should be picked up from where he had left off — an apparent suggestion for talks with separatists.
"The Prime Minister has an intention of holding talks after the situation becomes normal," Mehbooba told reporters.
"Talks cannot happen amid stone pelting and firing of bullets," she said after a 20-minute meeting with Modi.
"Talks are the only option. How long can you have a confrontation. Talks with Hurriyat (Conference) had taken place when Vajpayee ji was the Prime Minister and L.K. Advani ji was the Deputy Prime Minister. We need to start from where Vajpayee ji left. Talks are the only way out," she said.
The Chief Minister added that Modi has vowed to work on the lines of Vajpayee, whose policy was of reconciliation and not of confrontation.
"We need a dialogue. We can't be confronting our own people for too long," she added.
Mufti said her father, the late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed "had given a road map" for lasting peace in the state.
She said she was confident of finding a solution to the festering trouble in the Kashmir Valley.
Referring to the increase in stone-pelting incidents in the Valley, she said there were some young people who were "disillusioned" while some were being "instigated", often through the use of social media sites such as Facebook and Whatsapp.
She also raised the Indus water treaty issue, saying it was causing a huge loss of Rs 30,000 crore to the state.
The CM brought into the notice of the Prime Minister the colossal losses suffered by Jammu & Kashmir due to Indus Water Treaty and sought compensation for the same.
She informed Mr Modi that the recurring losses to the State due to non usage of waters of its rivers for agriculture, power and irrigation have gone beyond Rs 30000 crore as the treaty does not allow storage of its river waters by the State.
Mehbooba said the Prime Minister assured her that efforts would be made to see how the state would be compensated for this.
Other issues like progress on “Agenda of Alliance”, and related matters also came up for discussion.
The Prime Minister assured Mehbooba Mufti of full support from the Centre on these issues.
Rising tensions between the coalition partners, the PDP and the BJP, over the handling of the security situation in Kashmir also came up at the meeting.
The coalition came under strain when the PDP lost a seat in the recent MLC polls when an MLA voted in favour of BJP candidate Vikram Randhawa.
"Whatever happened should not have taken place. But this is an internal matter and we will resolve it with the BJP," she said.
Meanwhile, the BJP denied any rift in the coalition and assured the Mehbooba Mufti-led government of its continued support.
"There is no rift in the BJP-PDP alliance," BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav told reporters.
Madhav is in charge of the BJP affairs in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We have extended all support to the state," he said.
According to him, the party's main concern is to bring "normalcy" in the Kashmir Valley within one-two months.
He said there was an issue regarding elections to the Legislative Council. "We have noticed a lack of communication on the issue and will address it."