Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday sought to know what the “genuine grievances” of the people of Kashmir were when the Central government was giving 11 per cent of resources to a State having only one per cent of national population.
Speaking at a discussion on Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Joshi disputed that the people of Kashmir had “economic problems'' as he had only heard demands for “independence” and “autonomy.”
“Quiet dialogue”
On the government's “quiet dialogue” which was disrupted in December last year, Mr. Joshi questioned what it was about and with whom it was being held.
On Home Minister P. Chidambaram's contention that it was disrupted after one of the interlocutors was shot and injured, he said, “You should have realised then that people there do not want dialogue.”
Even as he criticised the government for its failure to address the Kashmir problem, he extended support to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saying that an elected government could not disturbed just because of stone-pelters. That would be a travesty of democracy. There can be a change in the legislative leadership but not an elected government, he said.
Initiating the debate, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the “disconnect between the ruled and the rulers'' in Jammu and Kashmir is widening, which was unfortunate in a democracy.
Girija Vyas of the Congress defended the economic package to the trouble-torn State and asked the Union government to pay more attention to the state and fill the gap between promises and delivery.
The Congress leader argued that first the storm in the State had to be dealt with and only then development could take place. Some wrongs had been committed in Kashmir, she said.
Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalmeen was highly critical of the manner in which the government was being run in the State and even alleged that all mosques were shut down during the holy month of Ramadan, and suggested that an all-party Parliamentary delegation should visit Jammu and Kashmir.
Let the people pray and let them protest, he said evoking a sharp reaction from Dr. Abdullah, who said he was misinforming the House.
Shailendra Kumar of the Samajwadi Party and Dara Singh Chauhan of the Bahujan Samaj Party sought a solution to the Kashmir problem.
Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (United) said the problem would not have occurred had the country not been partitioned and suggested strengthening of democratic institutions at the grass roots level by holding Panchayati Raj elections.
He was corrected by Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah during his speech on some historic facts.
Published - August 27, 2010 01:46 am IST
