Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Friday arrived in Srinagar and termed the ground situation “far from normal” as shopkeepers and transporters observed a shutdown in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks in Parliament that everything was normal.
Mr. Sinha, who was denied entry into the Valley and detained at the Srinagar airport on September 17, reached the capital of J&K without any objection by the local authorities unlike last time.
“I thank the government for allowing me to visit Kashmir. We are here to access the ground situation. The situation seems far from normal. Union Minister Shah’s statement on normalcy in Parliament has only evoked a backlash from people, who are observing a shutdown,” Mr. Sinha said.
He described the episode of August 5, when the Centre revoked J&K’s special status, as “grave injustice to the people of Kashmir and violation of the Indian Constitution.”
“People have shown maturity and responded with peace and dignity. India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi too was an advocate of fighting violence with peace and not violence with violence. The credit for maintaining calm and peace goes to the people of Kashmir and not to those who claim they did not fire a single bullet,” said Mr. Sinha, in an indirect reference to Mr. Shah’s speech in Parliament.
