Omar govt playing politics on Kishtwar riots, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday charged the Jammu and Kashmir government with playing politics on the Kishtwar riots and cautioned that this was another Pakistan design in which separatist forces were involved.

"The Jammu and Kashmir government is playing bad politics over the issue. It is an anti-India flare-up in which anti- India slogans were raised. The separatists have gone on a rampage. It is yet another Pakistan design? We do not want to inflame the issue," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters outside Parliament. He maintained that Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley should have been allowed to visit the riot-affected areas of Kishtwar on Sunday.

The Samajwadi Party asked the government to take appropriate action against whoever is involved in the riots. "The government should find out whether this violence is sponsored by Pakistan or by some political party. The government should act against whoever is involved, be it a political party or some terrorist organisation," SP leader Naresh Aggarwal said. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir government decided to order a judicial inquiry into the communal clashes in Kishtwar district that left two persons dead and 20 others injured.

"In order to establish the truth behind the Kishtwar violence and what followed, the state government has decided to order a judicial inquiry," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. He said the inquiry will be held by a retired judge of the high court and its outcome will be made public.

"The inquiry will be held by a retired high court judge in a time-bound manner to establish the facts and share them publicly," he said. The decision was taken at a high-level ministerial meeting chaired by the CM in Jammu on Monday.

Communal clashes broke out in Kishtwar area of Jammu province on Eid day which later spread to other parts of the region including Jammu city and Rajouri town. The state government has imposed curfew and prohibitory orders on movement of people in most parts of the Jammu region including Kathua and Doda districts.