NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
The unprecedented spurt in militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir has prompted BJP leaders to accuse the PDP-Congress alliance of 'boosting the morale of separatists'.
This comes even before Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has been able to give concrete shape to many of his tougher commitments like disbanding of the Special Operations Group, withdrawal of the Prevention of the Terrorism Act (POTA) and the release of separatists against whom no concrete charges could be established.
So far, not a single SOG officer detailed for counter insurgency duties has been confined to the barracks.
The criticism against Sayeed is overt in the Jammu region and could be one reason for him to blame Pakistan for the continuing terrorism in the state.
"Continuing with its evil designs, Pakistan again struck at the Raghunath temple complex," the Mufti said after the Sunday evening attack.
Such a statement has not been heard from him ever since he floated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He also mentioned the March attack on the temple in which ten persons, including two militants, were killed.
Sayeed has to walk a tightrope while building up the PDP's credentials as a mainstream party and simultaneously projecting the image of a strong pro-Kashmir party.
Sources close to Sayeed believe that 'he is advocating the healing touch doctrine to bring separatist leaders to the negotiating table' unlike his predecessor Dr Farooq Abdullah who maintained that 'we shall have nothing to do with them'.
On Wednesday, the former chief minister reiterated that 'it is no use talking to militants when they keep insisting that Jammu and Kashmir is not a part of India'.
"What is the use of releasing militants if the people are not feeling secure after their release?" Farooq asked after visiting the Raghunath temple in Jammu.
However, the state government's critics tend to overlook the fact that not more than six alleged separatists have been released so far, and most of them on parole in deference to court orders.
They can be arrested any time a misdemeanour is reported against them by the police to the designated court.
"The opposition is trying to create a storm in a tea-cup," pointed out a J&K minister.
However, the Congress is already feeling uneasy about the mileage the BJP would derive by harping on the Common Minimum Programme of the PDP-Congress government during the campaign for the Gujarat assembly polls.
The BJP has made terrorism an issue in the Gujarat polls and while the Congress-PDP's views on POTA, release of separatist leaders and on the SOG may convey one message in Jammu and Kashmir, it conveys quite another in Gujarat and other states, which terrorists are now targetting.
More reports from Jammu and Kashmir
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
