New Delhi, June 3 (UNI) Congress on Friday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre over targeted killing of Kashmiri Hindus in Jammu & Kashmir and demanded to take concrete steps to ensure normalcy in the Valley, besides ensuring security of the affected people.
“There are targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir. Now, it is not only Kashmiri Pandits, even people from outside who are working in Kashmir are being targeted. Whose responsibility is their safety ? It is the responsibility of the government. We appeal to the Centre to take all steps necessary to bring normalcy in Kashmir and tell the country about these steps,” Congress leader Vivek Tankha said, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here.
He demanded the Centre to take other political parties on board in this regard.
“If you want to address the issues anywhere whether it is Kashmir or Northeast and want peace, you have to address the stakeholders. You can never achieve peace without talking to stakeholders. I have never seen such an attempt in Kashmir,” the Congress leader said.
There is a lack of ‘statesmanship’ in addressing the issue, he claimed.
Attacking the ruling BJP dispensation, Tankha further said, “Kashmir is a larger issue than Article 370 and to address this, you need a lot of statesmanship, which is lacking. ‘Propaganda’ is good, but to a limited extent. It is a means to reaching out, but that can not be a basis for peace.”
The Centre should compensate the victims and provide adequate security to the affected people. In yet another targeted attack in broad daylight, a bank manager from Rajasthan was shot dead in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday morning, triggering widespread condemnation.
The attack took place two days after a 36-year-old teacher from Samba, Rajni Bala, was killed in the same district.
The spree of targeted killing has sparked fresh fears among Kashmiri Pandit employees, recruited under the Prime Minister’s special rehabilitation package, and Hindu employees from Jammu and other states posted in the Valley.
