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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday strongly batted for complete ‘emotional and psychological’ integration of the state with rest of the country, asserting that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is not a hurdle but a bridge in this direction.
“When the people of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) talk of Article 370, they talk of technical integration. We have to make them understand that we also want that Jammu and Kashmir should fully integrate with India emotionally, technically. We are already a part of this country. Who can deny that,” she said while replying to a debate in the legislative assembly on motion of thanks to the governor’s address.
“But have we emotionally joined that integration completely which we should have done emotionally and psychologically? No. But that is what is needed, in which (Article) 370 is not an impediment but 370 is a bridge which connects us,” said Mehbooba, who heads the People’s Democratic Party.
Hailing the Indian democracy, she said her late father Mufti Mohamed Sayeed had always believed in it and that was the reason that he had held the flag of mainstream political party (Congress) at an early age long back in 1960s.
“Today we have an opportunity to think about where to move ahead. I am hopeful, as we all say one thing that an issue, a pain is there, a difficulty is there, solution to which has to be found, for which dialogue should be held.
“But before we speak about dialogue outside, we should ourselves disperse the fear we have. They (the BJP) have fear of ‘self-rule’ and autonomy and we have fear that they (the BJP) might abrogate Article 370 (which grants special status to the state),” said Mehbooba, who heads a coalition government of the PDP and BJP.
She said both the parties were fearful of each other but the aim was the same, to see Jammu and Kashmir united, to see it prosper.
“We have faith in democracy of this country. We take oath of the Constitution of India and our own Constitution (of J&K), still there are so many doubts as they (BJP) feel that ... J&K might slip out of their hands,” she said.
“The Constitution of India and the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir have the capacity to accommodate the desires and wishes of the people on both sides of the divided Kashmir,” she said, adding, “We can fulfill their (Centre’s) aspirations as well, we can fulfill their dreams, but we have to first take out this fear from our hearts.”
Referring to the trouble witnessed in the valley over the last 5-6 months, she said there was a need for introspection.
“We all need to look within and see what we can do so that such a situation does not emerge in future, what role we can play to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, as (her father) Mufti Sahib had said that if somebody has a major role to play in resolving the issue, it is this Assembly,” she said.
Mehbooba said when her father, who held the flag of mainstream politics, spoke about ‘self-rule’, he was labeled as ‘anti-national’.
Commenting on the nature of the debate that took place on the Motion, the chief minister said she was happy to see that everybody talked about the Agenda of Alliance between the PDP and the BJP.
“There are good things in Agenda of Alliance, so people discuss about it. We didn’t bring those things from heaven. These are from the Working Groups (set up by the former central government) on which we all had reached a consensus and some of the things which PDP believes in, which we call ‘self-rule’ including opening of roads. Everybody agreed those working groups,” she said.
Turning to the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, she said the Working Group said that as the situation improves, decision should be taken on it.
“Whenever situation improves, we have to make a start from somewhere,” she said.
The Rangarajan Committee, she said, had recommended transfer of power projects to the state to make it financially viable.
“We also said in ‘self-rule’ and everybody wants that too,” she said.
Mehbooba admitted that during the last assembly elections, she had spoken about keeping the saffron party away, fearing that Article 370 was in ‘danger’.
“I accept that I said so because, as I said, we all had apprehensions against each other and rightly or wrongly, the BJP feels that abrogation of (Article) 370 can solve Kashmir issue. We have a different stand on this and when the mandate here was like the BJP got majority in Jammu and we in Kashmir, to respect that mandate we had to take a decision (of alliance),” she said.
She said her father wanted to respect the mandate and keep the state united which was his conviction to bring Jammu and Kashmir out of this mess.
“We waited for 10 years during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government as (then prime minister) Manmohan Singh wanted to visit his ancestral house in Pakistan as he was born there and wanted to see his house but because of certain compulsions he could not go,” she said.
“After 2014 Parliamentary elections, a big leader (came with a major mandate, we cannot close our eye,” Mehbooba said, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“He had a vision that if we want to bring Jammu and Kashmir out of the mess, we need to shake hands with the leader who is in majority in Jammu and who can take a bold decision for which the alliance was forged,” she said.
She went on to add, “We should not forget that it was Narendra Modi who, in the month of December (2015) went to Lahore like somebody goes from one house to another and attended the wedding of the grand daughter of Pakistani Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif).”
“We also feel that we are connected with history and geography and neither one can be changed. Howsoever we fight, at the end we have to learn to live with each other. It is up to us whether we should kill each other or live at peace,” she said.
Mehbooba said that ever since PDP was formed, its aim was to make Jammu and Kashmir a bridge of friendship and peace between India and Pakistan but it has become a battleground.
Peace is possible only when the relations of both the countries are good, the chief minister added.
She said that despite several provocations, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had gone ahead with his peace initiatives. She was apparently referring to Kargil aggression by Pakistan and attack on Parliament by Pakistan-based terror groups.
“Modi ji told me that he wishes his Pakistani counterpart on his birthday and even wished him speedy recovery during his surgery, but it was followed by Pathankot and Uri (terror attacks),” she said.
She said in a democracy, political parties question how these attacks happen but ‘I feel that the situation could not remain the same and slowly the situation would become normal’.
Both the countries have no other option but to hold dialogue, Mehbooba underscored and added that solution to all the problems is there in the Agenda of Alliance.
She complimented BJP ministers for thwarting the designs of those elements who wanted to spoil the atmosphere in Jammu region.
The BJP and the PDP have different ideologies but in Agenda of Alliance, both have agreed to maintain status quo on the issue of Article 370, Mehbooba said.
The Sagir Committee and the working groups have also said that unless the people of Jammu and Kashmir don’t want, there should be status quo on Article 370, she said.
“Agenda of Alliance would facilitate dialogue, transfer of power projects, and revocation of AFSPA at some point in time,” she said.
“Whatever you call it, holy or unholy alliance, but this alliance has a holy document which is Agenda of Alliance. It is a golden opportunity for all the political parties to help us implement this Agenda of Alliance,” she said.
She said she hopes to take Kashmir out of the mess.
She also said that some people say that since the alliance was formed, people in Jammu feel insecure. “But I am proud that people of Jammu as when the schools in Kashmir were closed, thousands of students from Kashmir came to Jammu and took admission here. They feel more secure here as compared to the unrest in Kashmir,” she said.
The chief minister also questioned why the issues related to rehabilitation of Pakistan Refugees or Kashmiri Pandits were being raked up.
She said the government of India was serious in providing livelihood to the West Pakistan refugees by absorbing them in central forces.