The Jammu and Kashmir State Committee of the CPI(M) has asked the State government to exhibit utmost caution and restraint in responding to the emerging situation and expressed deep anguish over the spate of civilian killings across the Valley.
At a meeting here, the committee emphasised that the situation should neither be seen through the prism of law and order problem nor as an issue of whether the police or the CRPF were responsible for the present situation. The meeting was chaired by the party's State secretary, M.Y. Tarigami.
“The CPI(M) believes that the blame game between the Centre and the State government over the civilian killings will drift the situation towards more chaos. Both the governments are expected to respond to the situation with a rational and humane approach,” a statement issued after the meeting said.
Political discontentment
The present situation was the manifestation of political discontentment among the people and demanded a serious political process, dialogue and deliberations. “The political initiatives taken by India and Pakistan few years ago undoubtedly gave the State people a ray of hope, but unfortunately those political processes have come to a halt,” the statement said.
“The peace process started during the Manmohan–Musharraf time and the subsequent interactions through Track II and back channel levels created an atmosphere where flexibility was witnessed in the maximalist attitude of the two countries. Certain confidence building measures were also taken and had a significant impact on the ground,” it pointed out.
The party maintained that the present situation should once again make the Central government realise the importance of initiating a serious all-inclusive political dialogue with the State people. It hoped that the Central government would adopt a pro-active approach vis-à-vis composite dialogue with Pakistan.
“The State government, with the help of the Centre, should address the genuine grievances of the youth, who feel disillusioned.” The recent visit to the State by the Prime Minister was bereft of any political message. “It has thus deepened further the disillusionment among the people, particularly the youth. We firmly believe that the people have the right to protest, but they should remain cautious, lest their sentiments can be exploited by vested interests for their nefarious designs, at the cost of blood of the innocent people,” the party said.
