Jammu and Kashmir politics begins a new phase

In a sudden turn of events, the Union govt. invited Kashmiri leaders for talks to Delhi.

Jammu and Kashmir politics begins a new phase

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• The story: In a sudden turn of events, the Union govt. invited Kashmiri leaders for talks to Delhi. In that meeting, pledging to bridge the distance between ‘dil’ (heart) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Dilli (dil aur Dilli ki doori), India's PM Modi made an emotional closing speech. He promised that Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s approach of insaniyat (humaneness), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (the Kashmiri identity) would be the guiding principles in the governance and administration of the Union Territory (UT).
• Details: The PM heard everyone before committing that the next steps in the region would be on the basis of consensus and respect for all views; that moves towards democracy (i.e., elections to the Assembly and eventually statehood) and development of the region would continue; and that the sacrifices made by the people in rooting out terrorism will not have been in vain. Senior leader Farooq Abdullah wanted a return to the pre-5 August 2019 status of J&K when Article 370 was written down. In an emotional speech he spoke about the loss of trust.
• PDP's view: Muzaffar Beigh, formerly of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who has now joined Sajjad Lone’s People’s Conference, reminded the gathering that the status of J&K was a matter before a constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court (SC). He warned people to not whip up sentiment around it. Later his tone changed and he said: "All leaders demanded statehood. To which the PM said, the delimitation process should conclude first and then other issues will be addressed."
• Congress's view: Senior Congress leader and former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad who opened the meeting raised the issue of the restoration of statehood, the question of Assembly polls, protection of the land rights of the people of J&K, the return of Kashmiri Pandits, and the release of political prisoners. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti echoed these concerns, and added that the government must restart a dialogue with Pakistan, partly in the interests of restarting border trade. She said New Delhi must engage Islamabad, in the same way it engages with other countries.
• Amit Sha: The Home Minister gave facts and figures about those who are in prison. He has set up a committee under Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha to review the cases but prisoners were convicted in criminal cases like murder, rape, terror funding, and money laundering too. Shah reiterated the Centre’s faith in democracy and said elections would be held but delimitation was a prerequisite to holding polls.
• Developmental projects: Among the projects is rail connectivity between Srinagar and the rest of India by 2022; industrial development of J&K, 100 per cent electrification of all districts and drinking water in most, and extensive fortification of the health infrastructure with two AIIMS institutions in the pipeline, along with medical colleges. Several oxygen plants have been set up and vaccinations against Covid are progressing apace.

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