The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said it was ready to carry forward the dialogue legacy of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the Hurriyat leaders but “there would be no compromise on the country’s constitution”.
“We are for dialogue and the fact is that Prime MinisterNarendraModi is creating an atmosphere for peace and reconciliation. We areopen to talks with Hurriyat leaders but within the ambit of the constitution,”BJP’s national vice-president and J&K affairs in-charge AvinashRai Khannatold Greater Kashmir on the sidelines of a party function in Srinagar.
He said Prime Minister Modi has moved beyond the previousslogan of sab kasaath, sab kavikas and “we have added sab kavishwas(confidence)”.
“The Prime Minister and the BJP are keen to win theconfidence of every single citizen of the country including the people ofJ&K. Hurriyat (leaders) are our own people as they are the residents ofJ&K,” Khanna said.
“We are ready to carry forward the dialogue legacy ofVajpayeeji but there can be no compromise on the country’s constitution.Hurriyat is welcome to talk to us or even the Prime Minister.”
Late Vajpayee had famously announced “Kashmir issue needs tobe dealt with in the ambit of humanity.”
Khanna’s statement on the possibility of Hurriyat-Delhidialogue comes at a time when Governor Satya Pal Malik has triggered a debateacross the political spectrum in the state by claiming that “it was encouragingto see Hurriyat’s readiness for a dialogue.”
The Hurriyat Conference (M) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq alsoresponded to Governor’s statement saying “the amalgam has always believed indialogue as the means for resolution”.
Asked about the possibility of delimitation of Assemblyseats in J&K, he said: “The BJP high command has not taken any final callon the issue yet.”
About the BJP’s membership drive to be started on July 6across the state, Khanna said he was in Srinagar to take stock of thepreparations.
“We have been tasked to increase the existing member base by20 per cent,” the BJP leader said.
He said that BJP’s mission is to increase its existingmember base in all three regions of the state and to work hard to form its owngovernment in the state by winning the maximum number of seats in the Assemblypolls.
Earlier, Khanna told party leaders that they must go topeople to win their confidence and to rope them in to strengthen the party.
In the recently concluded LokSabha polls, the BJP won threeseats—two in Jammu and one in Ladakh region.
The party claims that 17 lakh people voted for it in thestate.