J&K interlocutor to decide whom to talk to: Centre

Greater Noida/New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday said it was left to the newly-appointed interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir to decide whom to engage with in the troubled state even as the Congress alleged that the move was "only for publicity".

Former Intelligence Bureau(IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma was on Monday appointed by the Centre as its special representative for a "sustained dialogue" with all stakeholders in J and K, in a fresh move aimed at bringing peace in the border state.

The J and K government welcomed Sharma's appointment, observing that dialogue was the only way forward to address the Kashmir issue in the larger interest of peace and stability in the state while the state unit of the BJP asked all stakeholders to "give peace a chance".

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh when asked by reporters if Sharma would hold talks with the Hurriyat Conference, as suggested by some state politicians, responded by saying, "It depends upon him(Sharma) whom he talks to or engages with. Singh was speaking on the sidelines of the 56th Raising Day parade of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Greater Noida, near Delhi.

The minister ducked questions by reporters on what signals the Indian government sought to send to Pakistan with the appointment of the interlocutor. Sustained dialogues would be initiated by the government for a solution to the Kashmir issue, Singh had said on Monday.

The home minister had also made it clear that Sharma, who would hold the rank of a cabinet secretary, would have a free hand in deciding whom to engage with.

But the main opposition party Congress said it doubted the "intent" of the NDA government in resolving the Kashmir issue, and alleged that it appointed an interlocutor towards the end of its rule "only for publicity".

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress and other opposition parties had asked the government to talk to all stakeholders to resolve the "political issue" in the Valley through confidence-building measures rather than "hot pursuit", but it "wasted" three- and-a-half years during which many precious lives were lost.

"We are not opposing the decision of the government. But at the fag end of their tenure, they have done this. This is only for publicity. This government has no Kashmir policy.

They have no policy on demonetisation, GST, farmers issues and unemployment. We doubt their intent as they have no policy," Azad said at a joint press conference of opposition leaders in Delhi.

Azad, who was flanked by Derek O'Brien of the TMC and Sharad Yadav of the breakaway JD-U faction, said that had the government taken steps as suggested by the Congress-led opposition, many precious lives of soldiers and civilians could have been saved as well as the eyesight of many young girls who lost them due to pellet guns. "For three-and-a-half years, the BJP is talking about 'hot pursuit'. We all opposition parties both inside and outside of Parliament have been talking about 'confidence building' measures, besides 'hot pursuit'," he said.

New Delhi: Leaders of opposition parties on Tuesday hailed the government's initiative to start J&K dialogue and appointment of Dineshwar Sharma as the interlocutor. Over 45 union ministers and about 20 floor leaders of the opposition and other parties in both the Houses of Parliament, who was present at a lunch hosted by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, welcomed the government's decision on J&K dialogue.

According to a participant, the issue of J&K dialogue was discussed in presence of Naidu and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien were also present on occasion, the participant said.

According to the participant, one senior minister quipped that he had attended several lunches and dinners in Rashtrapati Bhawan, but this was the first time at the residence of vice-president. A senior Congress leader observed that as per his knowledge Naidu scored another first by inviting senior mediapersons as well for the lunch hosted by a vice-president, he said.

Ministers who attended the lunch include Arun Jaitely, Nitin Gadkari, Ramvilas Paswan, Smriti Zubin Irani, Radha Mohan Singh, Ashok Gajapati Raju, Anant Geete, Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, Harsimran Kaur, Ramdas Athawale, Hardeep Singh Puri and Anupriya Patel.

While Opposition leaders and floor leaders who attended the lunch include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Derek O'Brien (TMC), Karunakaran (CPM), D Raja (CPI), Ramgopal Yadav (SP), Naresh Gujral (SAD), Navneet Krishnan (AIADMK), Kanimozhi (DMK), Tota Narasimham (TDP) and Rajamohan Reddy (YSRCP).