New Delhi, Aug 16: As alliance partner Omar Abdullah battles unrest in Kashmir, the Congress Working Committee Monday discussed the “worrisome” situation in the Valley.
With Home Minister P Chidambaram briefing it on the situation, the CWC called for a “balanced” approach of dialogue and action and expressed concern over the recent spate of violence in the Kashmir Valley.
The concern of the Congress leadership over the situation could be gauged from the fact that Chidambaram was specially called to the meeting despite not being a CWC member. Chidambaram is understood to have told the meeting that the situation in the Valley is “worrisome”.
Party President Sonia Gandhi presided over the meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by her side. Party general secretaries Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh could not attend the meeting as they were out of station.
The CWC felt the government should do all it can to bring normalcy in the valley and the political steps, which are required, should be taken. The party said that the process should be taken forward with all seriousness.
The CWC expressed concern over infiltration and ongoing militant activities in the state and noted that the youths of the valley are being misguided, AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
The Home Minister is learnt to have briefed the party about how the situation has unfolded in the recent months and also noted that such incidents were not to be seen in the initial months after the alliance government took over the state administration. The party also expressed grief over deaths due to cloudburst in Leh and recent railway accidents. The meeting was called to finalise dates for the Congress President’s election.
To a question on whether the matter of corruption in Commonwealth Games was discussed, Dwivedi said that no other issue came up in the meeting. Pertinently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his I-Day speech on Sunday had asked the agitating Kashmiri youth to end violence saying it would not benefit anyone. He offered to carry forward the dialogue process within the framework of the state being an integral part of India.
He said the Indian democracy has the "generosity and flexibility" to address concerns of any group.
Earlier, on August 10, Prime Minister in a meeting with a political delegation from the State urged the people there to “give peace a chance” and promised a sustained “internal and external” dialogue for resolution of the state’s problems.
In remarks that were telecast live to a national audience, the prime minister spoke of “great pain” caused to him by the events in Kashmir and said, “I share the grief, the sorrow and the sense of loss of every mother, every father, every family and every child in Kashmir”.
“Let us make a new beginning,” he urged and said, “I appeal to the youth to go back to their schools and colleges and allow classes to resume. I ask their parents what future is there for Kashmir if your children are not educated?”

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST