Srinagar, June 7: Jammu & Kashmir National Conference has expressed its dismay on the statement of Ram Jethmalani terming it as irresponsible, baseless, callous and bereft of facts.
The spokesman of the party said “people like Ram Jethmalani, Arundhati Roy and Gautam Navlakha at the behest of political mercenaries like Madhu Kishwar and the likes visit Kashmir to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state and then return to their comfortable homes in Delhi and Bombay to be seen occasionally on television screens discussing Kashmir with the sole aim of stoking violence and disturbance in the state much to the detriment of the people of the state and their welfare.”
The spokesman said the government should not allow people like Ram Jethmalani to enter the state during the summers because they do not want a solution to the Kashmir issue instead they come here to misguide the people, hoodwink them and derail the process of peace in Jammu & Kashmir.
The party spokesman said Ram Jethmalani is probably out of his mind to suggest that in J&K Nazi rule is prevalent. He said a state where 80 percent of the electorate is participating in panchayat elections after nearly three decades to establish a democratic system at the grass root level can by no stretch of imagination be termed as a Nazi rule but in fact should be hailed as a great leap forward in strengthening the democratic institutions in the state and bringing accountability, transparency as also improving the delivery mechanism.
The party spokesman asked Ram Jethmalani to first convince his own party, the BJP, to support the reduction of troops in civilian areas as also to raise the demand for withdrawal of AFSPA before he convinces anybody else.
The spokesman said Omar Abdullah and his government do not need any certificate from “disgruntled, frustrated and politically rejected people like Ram Jethmalani, a man who has failed to even win the Supreme Court Bar Association elections.” He said Omar is striving hard to win the hearts and minds of the people with his untiring efforts and so deserves full support of all right thinking people.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Jun 2011 00:00:00 IST