Modi’s Kashmir All-Party Delegation to Attempt a Vajpayee-ian Feat
CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury — part of the 30-member delegation — asked for an invitation to Hurriyat leaders for talks.
An all party delegation will visit Jammu and Kashmir to address the turmoil in the state that has claimed over 70 lives in the past month.
Unrest spread through the state after security personnel gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen commander and youth icon Burhan Wani.
An interactive session was held by key ministers to brief MPs who will be part of the all-party delegation which will hold talks with a cross-section of people.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh and top officials were to make presentations at the meeting.
Delegation
Apart from Home Minister Rajnath Singh and MoS PMO Jitendra Singh, those who will be part of the all-party delegation include
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
- Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad
- Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge
- Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni
- Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP)
- JD-U leader Sharad Yadav
- CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury
- CPI leader D Raja
- NCP’s Tariq Anwar
- Trinamool Congress’ Saugata Roy
- Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut
- and Anandrao Adsul
- TDP’s Thota Narasimham
- Shiromani Akali Dal’s Prem Singh Chandumajra
- BJD’s Dilip Tirkey
- AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi
- AIUDF’s Badaruddin Ajmal
- Muslim League’s E Ahamed
- TRS’ Jitendra Reddy
- NK Premchandran (RSP)
- P Venugopal (AIADMK)
- Tiruchi Siva (DMK)
- YB Subba (YSR-Congress)
- Jaiprakash Yadav (RJD)
- Dharamveer Gandhi (AAP)
- Dushyant Chautala (RLD)
Also Read: Why is BJP Obsessed with Kashmir?
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have extended their support but have not been able to nominate any of their members.
CPI(M) Seeks Invitation for Hurriyat Members
Coming out of a briefing held by the government for members of the delegation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that government should invite Hurriyat for talks with the all-party delegation when it visits Kashmir, starting from Sunday.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had involved the separatists from the Valley when his government had held similar talks in April 2003.
Yechury said that as a follow-up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement of taking peace initiative on the basis of ‘Insaniyat, Jamuriyat and Kashmiriyat’, government should make “tangible” announcements such as:
- Ban on pellet guns
- Withdrawal of AFSPA from civilian areas
- Rehabilitation and compensation package for those who lost their lives in recent violence
The Home Minister has also said that the delegation will meet again after returning to Delhi to discuss the possible action.
(With PTI inputs.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)