National Conference President and Member of Parliament Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday urged the government of India to seize the golden opportunity and hold talks with all the stakeholders in the state, saying opening of channels of dialogue between the centre and the state will led to successful outcomes.
The party president while underscoring the inevitability of the process of dialogue said: “On June 22, 2019 the state governor had said that the Hurriyat was ready for talks. I believe BJP should use its massive mandate to solve the protracted issue of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no other alternative to dialogue. It is the institution of dialogue that will commit both to listen, reflect and question in order to reach a greater understanding. It is an apt time for the center to open all channels of dialogue with the Hurriyat. We have been hearing the Catch-words of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, and Insaniyat” for long now, however nothing substantial was done to materialize them.”
Abdullah said that the BJP led central government should without much delay tread the path as shown by Vajpayee. “The center should move in that direction and hold talks with all stakeholders in the state on the principles advocated by him. The measure of opening dialogue with all the stakeholders will certainly act as a catalyst for restoring peace in the ill-fated state of ours. It is high time for BJP to turn its massive mandate into an aggressive engagement with all the stakeholders,” he said.
The central government, he said, should also address to the external dimensions of the issue and use the method of tact and diplomacy. “The central government should continue with the good work done by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” he said, as per a statement issued to the press.
Abdullah said that Pakistan too should attend to the genuine grievances of the India. “The much touted ‘Neighborhood first’ policy of the BJP led central government would not be able to give the India much anticipated diplomatic dividends if neighbours are left out on this front,” he said, adding: “I am of the thought that India and Pakistan bonhomie is indispensable for the fight against terrorism.”
He said the new government at the Center with a far bigger mandate will certainly earn more esteem if it is able to bring peace in the region.
While rejecting the frequent tirade of BJP ministers against the Art 370, Art 35- A, he said, “The honorable Prime minister should stop the untaught and unintelligent rants emanating from his party. The matter of Art 35-A is sub-judice and it is therefore not appropriate for anybody to comment on it. On the other hand the honorable Supreme Court has recently opined in its April 3rd judgment that Art 370 has acquired a permanent status,” he said.