‘To those leaders who brought AFSPA and never took it back, can you please have the decency of shutting up?’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that the Central government was considering withdrawing AFSPA from Kashmir, along with the pullout of troops. Most regional parties in Kashmir have expressed the hope that Amit Shah will keep his promise after the parliamentary elections. However, former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) vice president, Omar Abdullah termed HM Shah’s remarks as “hollow”.
“The way people of Ladakh have been cheated over the restoration of statehood and Sixth Schedule, Amit Shah is repeating it in J&K. If New Delhi thinks everything is normal in J&K, even militancy and separatism are over, then it’s high time to remove AFSPA and withdraw troops. There should be no need to wait further.”
The sharpest reaction against Omar Abdullah came from People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone, who cautioned Abdullah against playing with the sentiments of the people by raising false alarms.
Lone said, “The people of Kashmir will welcome if AFSPA is removed. Let us hope that the HM honours his word. And to those Kashmiri leaders who ruled J&K and their national partners who brought AFSPA and never took it back, can you please have the decency of shutting up?”
People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said that “revocation of AFSPA and withdrawal of troops was part of our Agenda of Alliance with BJP. Better late than never but only if it isn’t jumlebaazi like generating two crore jobs every year or empty promises of depositing Rs 15 lakhs into bank accounts.”
Amit Shah in an interview had said that the BJP government would consider revoking AFSPA as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is getting normal. He said that the road map for the withdrawal of troops was already on the table and disclosed that J&K police had been provided all the required training and encouragement to take the main role in Jammu and Kashmir for the maintenance of law and order.
Amit Shah said that the levels of violence had been brought to zero in Kashmir valley due to the efforts of past one decade of BJP rule at the Centre and blamed the Congress, PDP and NC for earlier “fake encounters” in the Kashmir valley. He said that in the past five years not a single fake encounter had taken place in Kashmir.
He said that the government lodged FIRs against the people involved in fake encounters, which has given the people a lot of relief.
It is in place to mention that BJP is trying to consolidate its position in the entire Jammu and Kashmir especially in the parliamentary segment of Anantnag-Rajouri-Poonch.
Omar Abdullah has recently said that the BJP at the Centre is using all its might to defeat his party in Jammu and Kashmir.