The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ruling coalition partner Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday took exception to Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir’s statement in Parliament on dialogue with separatists.
“Calling for conditional dialogue with separatists ‘within Constitution’ is tantamount to closing the doors for negotiations,” PDP vice-president Mohammad Sartaj Madni told The Hindu .
Mr. Ahir had said on Wednesday that the government remained open to dialogue “with those who eschew the path of violence and are willing to work within the framework of the Constitution of India.”
Mr. Madni described the Minister’s statement as “against the spirit of the Agenda of Alliance between PDP and BJP, which recognises and envisages the importance of an open dialogue”.
“Excluding Pakistan from the discourse undermines the reality. Without Pakistan’s involvement no solution to the Kashmir problem can be sustained,” he said.
