BJP general secretary Ram Madhav Wednesday said Article 370 is the “greatest impediment” in the “emotional integration” of Kashmir with rest of India.
Underlining that the Kashmir issue should not be seen inisolation, he said, “Jammu and Ladakh have been sacrificial lambs in theprocess of handling the situation in Kashmir.”
Madhav, who is in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir, was speakingat the launch of a book titled ‘J&K Invisible Faultlines’ written byjournalist Sandhya Jain.
He said those who have pro-India sentiment in the Valleyneed to be protected.
“In any such region with separatism andanti-nationalism, those who stand for India, there has to be positive bias forthem… We cannot treat pro-India and pro-separatists equally. Secularneutrality does not work. One nationalist dying is one pro-India citizen less,we cannot afford it,” he said.
Referring to his interaction with Jammu and Kashmir’s formergovernor Jagmohan, the BJP leader said, “Jagmohan told me that an averageKashmiri is like you and me; but he needs confidence that he will not be killedif he holds up the Indian flag.
“The duty of the state is to ensure that everybodyholding Indian flag is protected,” he said. Madhav also stressed the needto have some ground rules for handling the Kashmir issue. “Kashmir hamarahai to Kashmiri bhi hamare hain (Kashmir is ours so are Kashmiris)… You donot shout that all Kashmiris are anti-nationals, that is not the realty,”he said.
Elaborating further, the BJP general secretary said therecould be people who are misguided or are “terrorists or extremists”,but one needs to look at them as ‘one of us’ who should be brought into themainstream.
He said Kashmir became an integral part of India on the dayinstrument of accession was signed, and not because of Article 370.”Article 370 is not the reason for Kashmirjoining India. This myth that certainleaders in Kashmir want to perpetuate in this country is the biggest fallacy.If anything, Article 370 is the greatest impediment in the greatest emotionalintegration of Kashmiris with the rest of India,” Madhav added.