New Delhi : Blaming the Jammu and Kashmir government for the present crisis in the Valley, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said the Centre should directly engage with the people instead of talking to the separatists.
Taking potshots at the state government in the Valley, Jaitley told NDTV in an interview, ”The present government in Kashmir did not do its duty properly which has led to the present impasse in the Valley. The aloofness of Omar Abdullah government has led to the political vacuum.”
”The government can’t give in to separatists and we need to engage directly will the Kashmiris to resolve the crisis,” he added.
The government is busy finalising the composition of the new group of Kashmir interlocutors as part of a fresh peace initiative.
Arun Jaitley, who was part of the all party delegation to Kashmir, said that the BJP would support such a bi-partisan political group but added that tackling talks with separatists remained the tricky part.
According to sources, unlike in the past, a senior politician will head this group and among the names under consideration is that of Sitaram Yechury and Ram Vilas Paswan who first proposed the recent meeting between members of the all party delegates and key separatists in the Valley.