Hyderabad, July 12: The Army deployed in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of recent violence will continue to remain there as long as the state government feels its presence is necessary, Union Minister MM Pallam Raju said Monday.
“What is happening in Srinagar and other places is very unusual. Army comes in only when it is beyond the handling of the state government. As long as the state government thinks it is necessary, the Army will be there,” Raju, Minister of State for Defence, said on the sidelines of a function here.
 According to him, the Union government would like to withdraw the troops as soon as normalcy is restored in the troubled state.
 “I don’t think that (withdrawal of Army) would take long,” he said in reply to a query if it would take long for troop withdrawal.
 Meanwhile, Congress on Monday said it was for the government to take cognizance about the Army chief Gen V K Singh’s comments that appeared to be critical of the state’s political leadership in dealing with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
 “If at anyone has to take cognisance, the matter is in the purview of the government,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari told reporters in New Delhi.
 Singh said on Sunday, “so far as the Army is concerned, I think as security forces, a lot of work has been done. The situation has been brought to a particular level when other initiatives should have started to make way for betterment.”
 Asked whether the Army was deployed as a deterrent to curb the violence, he said, “I think there was a sort of loss of confidence and they thought that Army should be seen more prominently. We said yes (to the deployment) as we are as much concerned as anyone else. Army is already there. It is already carrying out (operations) with the CRPF, with the police in conjunction with the state. So we are there for various things and we are helping them.”

CENTRE WATCHING KASHMIR SITUATION: CONG
 The central government is closely watching the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir and will provide all support to control the volatile situation there, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of the state Prithviraj Chavan said in New Delhi on Monday.
 His remarks came as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah convened an all-party meeting to find a way to tackle the situation. However, the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) didn’t attend the meeting, despite the urging of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
 Replying to queries about PDP president Mehbooba Mufti not attending the crucial meet, Chavan said: “Although PDP has refused to attend, other parties were part of it.”
 “We are watching the situation and will provide all help to the state government to tackle the situation,” Chavan said.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST