A six member BJP delegation led by its former president Rajnath Singh is once again in Valley to study the “alienation of the people of the state”. The delegation called on the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and also met several groups of people. Later Singh in his interaction with media sought a solution to Kashmir within the ambit of “justice and humanity”. He, however, reiterated the BJP position that J&K is an integral part of the country. The delegation will submit its own separate report on Kashmir in three months. And this will be in addition to the interlocutors’ report on the state. We already have a report by a non-UPA, non-NDA panel of politicians and civil society activists headed by Lok Jan Shakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan which in one of its significant recommendations sought the appointment of a permanent, high powered committee of parliamentarians to engage in dialogue with all sections of Kashmiri society for resolution of the issue.  One wonders what these unofficial reports are meant to resolve. And if they represent the Kashmir solution advocated by the opposition parties in India, what is the status of the official interlocutors’ report on the state.  And what does it tell about the central government’s ability to implement its own report. What we are witnessing is the unhelpful situation of the government and opposition plowing in opposite directions on Kashmir.  BJP has already criticized the interlocutors report, even passing a resolution against it. Singh, however, has now clarified that his party didn’t entirely reject the report. That still makes little sense as the party is against the review of all the central laws extended to the state, as recommended in the report. What Kashmir needs is a broad-based political consensus before things can move ahead. And this can only be achieved through a parliamentary committee representing all political parties. The first suggestion for such a committee had come from the separatists in Valley. And considering how the political opinion in the country remains hopelessly divided on the state, this suggestion remains the only valid way out to forge some consensus on the state.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST