BJP closed to PM's open talk on Kashmir

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Kashmir peace formula on Wednesday, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated.

The BJP targeted the Prime Minister in Parliament for reigniting the autonomy debate and termed it unfortunate. The PM's autonomy announcement has angered the BJP which is the principal Opposition party in Parliament.

"Such announcements help terrorists, separatists and sap the morale of security forces. It is unfortunate and we will raise the issue in Parliament," BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, said.

Meanwhile, there have been mixed reactions to the Prime Minister's peace appeal for Kashmir where 52 people have been killed in violence in the last eight weeks.

"Whatever is possible within the Constitution of India without compromising the sovereignty of India and without compromising on Kashmir being a part of India, BJP is open to discussion on any other issue, " Venkaiah Naidu, said.

However, a political consensus might not be easy as each of the political players now stand by their own terms.

Rejecting the PM's Kashmir proposal outright, the BJP has demanded that Article 370 be scrapped.

The National Conference, led by the Abdullahs, has demanded autonomy for the state. Whereas, the PDP led by the Muftis, want self-rule along with joint control of the two Kashmirs through a common Assembly monitored by New Delhi and Islamabad.

However, both the Opposition PDP as well as the Hurriyat, have said that they are open to the dialogue process. The Mirwaiz faction of the Hurriyat Conference has requested for an autonomous undivided Jammu and Kashmir with open borders. The Geelani faction of the Hurriyat has demanded referendum or UN resolution.

"We don’t want to be a part of any facade. For the first time, the PM has acknowledged that the Kashmir problem is a 63-year-old issue. It was a positive step from the PM. I don't consider this as an all-party meet as it took one month for the state government to seek an appointment," PDP Chief Mehmooba Mufti said,

"Kashmir is not about bread, jobs; it's about political resolution," Hurriyat Conference Chairman Abdul Ghani Butt, said.

From 1947 to 1953, J-K had full autonomy over the Valley. Before 1953, the state had power over all sectors apart from communications, defence and external affairs. In June 2000, the J-K state Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging a return to pre-1953 position. However, in July 2000, the Union Cabinet under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee found the resolution "unacceptable" and rejected it. Again, in December 2009, PM Manmohan Singh appointed Justice Saghir Ahmed committee which recommended "autonomy to the extent possible."

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that the Centre is ready to consider the demand for autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir if there were unanimity among political parties on the issue. He also emphasised on the need to kickstart political dialogue.

He also condoled the death of many young men due to violence over the past few weeks. He also appealed to the Valley's youth to renounce violence for education and help give peace a chance. On an optimistic note, the PM also announced the formation of a six-panel committee to look at generation of more jobs in the state.