BJP, LJP, Left unite over dialogue in J&K, differ over AFSPA

After their visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP, Left parties and LJP pushed for dialogue with the people of the state as a solution to resolve the vexed situation, but remained divided on withdrawal or dilution of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

After their visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP, Left parties and LJP pushed for dialogue with the people of the state as a solution to resolve the vexed situation, but remained divided on withdrawal or dilution of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

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Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the sense of alienation among people of J&K would have to be removed and suggested that dialogue was the way forward.

"The people are Indians, the land is India's... then the government has to work out something to ensure that a sense of alienation is not there among the locals," he said.

He said the UPA government's propaganda should reach the people since lack of it has led to "separatists win the battle of nerves" over the years.

"The distant dream of a separate state has to be removed. There has to be an eradication of the idea of separatism and the state has to function within the Constitutional framework of India," the BJP leader asserted.

Concurring with Jaitley's views, Left parties also favoured parleys between the government and "all sections" of people to work out a solution to the Kashmir problem within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

"We are prepared to reach out to every section to work out a solution within the Constitution. All matters can be resolved through a dialogue," CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told PTI.

Taking a line against the separatists, Yechury said any solution to the Kashmir imbroglio has to be found within the framework of the Constitution and through discussions.

Senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta asked the government to take "calculated risks" to defuse the situation and restore peace and normalcy.

Besides talks with "all sections" of the people, other steps he suggested included "selective withdrawal" of AFSPA, release of all protesters who have not been slapped with serious charges, creation of a Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir and an economic package that includes revival of all central PSUs in the state.

On the meetings with separatist leaders, Dasgupta said barring the demand for 'azadi', other issues could be resolved through continued dialogue.