J&K Congress legislative party members on Sunday told former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led group that only “secular forces” can keep Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh united, even as the group wrapped up its two-day Kashmir visit.
The Congress policy planning group comprising Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni first held a meeting with J&K Congress legislative party and later met several delegations at Hari Niwas here on Sunday.
The group was constituted in April this year after the situation in Kashmir worsened because of widespread protests and clashes following the unprecedented poll boycott during Srinagar Lok Sabha bypolls on 9th April. Eight civilians were killed and around a hundred protesters injured by government forces on the polling day for Srinagar-Budgam constituency.
J&K Congress president GA Mir said the group had a series of “fruitful” meetings with the visiting group about the current situation and issues in Kashmir.
“All the delegations and individuals fearlessly and frankly talked about the core issues, problems and aspirations in Kashmir,” he said.
“During the legislative party meeting, we apprised the group that voices in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are growing for trifurcation of the state,” senior vice-president of J&K Congress, Ghulam Nabi Monga, who was part of meeting, told Kashmir Post. “We told them that only secular forces can keep the state united.”
During the meeting, Monga said that overall Kashmir situation was also discussed. “We apprised the panel that after the PDP-BJP government took over reigns of the state, the situation is getting worse,” he said.
Monga said that they also told the panel how the tradition and culture of Kashmir is being “damaged by the present dispensation” in the state.
Various senior Congress leaders and legislators, according to Monga, also apprised the visiting group about the ground situation and current affairs in J&K, especially the Valley. “We also apprised the group about the failures of the central and state governments on various fronts,” he said.
He said: “We was also talked about the fact that mainstream political forces are also feeling marginalised and suffocated due to the policies and rhetoric of the BJP government at the Centre and failure of the PDP-BJP alliance in the state,” he said.
Before wrapping up its two-day visit, the Congress group continued with its interactions and met more than 40 delegations comprising mainstream political parties including Awami National Conference, PDF, AIP, DPN, CPI(M), civil society groups, business and trade bodies, tour and travel associations, non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit forum, J&K Press Association, 2014 flood victims, Youth Forum, a women’s delegation, some district Bar associations, saffron growers, hotel and houseboat owners’ associations.
Over 25 delegations and associations met the policy planning group on Sunday—the second day of its interaction with around 58 delegations and groups involving over 12,00 people, a Congress spokesman said.
