AGENCY
New Delhi: The Centre may harden its attitude towards separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, making their foreign travel difficult and scaling down the security which they enjoy at the exchequer’s cost.
Miffed over the cold shoulder treatment given by separatists to the MPs, who were part of the all-party delegation that visited the state, the Centre is considering moves to curb their foreign travel by withdrawing their passports and denying travel documents in some cases.
Besides these, the Centre will also scrutinise their bank accounts and complete pending investigations in cases against them so a strong message goes around that those provoking youths in Kashmir Valley to create disturbance since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8 will not be spared, government sources said.
The Home Ministry’s tough stand came apparently after the nod from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is said to have conveyed that time has come to act tough with the separatists, sources said.
The snub by the Hurriyat leaders who refused to meet some members of the all-party delegation, has upset the government to the extent of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh saying that such behaviour was neither ‘Kashmiriyat’ nor ‘Insaniyat’.
CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Yadav of JD-U, Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav of RJD, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi and D Raja of CPI had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders.
Sources said there was a feeling in the government that lack of governance was a major concern for Jammu and Kashmir and this needs to be addressed.
The central government feels that the state government is treating separatists with kid gloves and have to be tough against them, they said, claiming students, parents and the middle class were getting restless and wanted the cycle of violence to end.
The final decision on these issues, however, will be taken after the all-party delegation, which visited the troubled state, meets here on Wednesday and consultations at the highest level of the government, sources said.
Rajnath briefs PM on Kashmir situation
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in Kashmir after returning from his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Minister, in an hour long meeting, apprised Modi about the ground situation of the state assessed by the all-party delegation which visited Srinagar and Jammu on September 4 and 5. “Briefed the Prime Minister on all-party delegation’s visit to J&K and also apprised him of the situation in the state,” Singh said in a tweet after the meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence.
While the Prime Minister returned to the capital on Monday night after his visit to Vietnam and China, the Home Minister too had come back from Jammu and Kashmir Monday evening.
Sources said the members of the all-party delegation are likely to meet here Wednesday to discuss their findings during their visit and chalk out future plans for Jammu and Kashmir.
The all-party delegation seeking to end the turbulence in Kashmir concluded its visit Monday with no breakthrough.
Unhappy at the stubborn refusal of Hurriyat leaders to meet some MPs who had literally knocked at their doors in Srinagar, the Home Minister had said that their conduct was against “democracy, humanity or even ‘Kashmiriyat’ (Kashmiri ethos)”.
