PM appeals for peace and normalcy in J&K

PM's comments come on a day when separatist outfits are planning a march to a UN office in Sonawar in the Valley to present a memorandum seeking permanent resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Concerned over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that all "right thinking" people must work together to bring peace and normalcy in the border state.

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"All political parties, all right-thinking people must work together to bring the situation under control," Singh told reporters in the Parliament complex after attending the swearing-in of noted economist C Rangarajan and former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna as Rajya Sabha members.

"Everybody has an obligation to contribute...All political parties, as I said from the ramparts of the Red Fort. This is not a partisan issue," Singh said when asked whether the situation in the state was under control.

His comments came on a day when separatist outfits were planning a march to a UN office in Sonawar in the Valley and supporters of the group, spearheading the Amarnath agitation, deciding to court arrest in Jammu.

Coming out strongly against "divisive politics" on the Amarnath issue, prime minister, in his address to the nation on the Independence Day, had asked political parties not to use religion to divide people but come together in finding a permanent solution to problems plaguing the state.

"In this hour of crisis, divisive politics will lead us nowhere," Singh had said, appealing to all political parties to keep the long-term interests of the state in view and come together to find a permanent solution to the problems in Jammu and Kashmir.