The Union Home Minister Amit Shah has called an interactive session with the newly elected District Development Council (DDC) on Monday before leaving for New Delhi after completing his three day tour to Jammu and Kashmir (J-K).
According to the sources an invitation was sent to the DDC members to have a meeting with the Home Minister at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on 25 October.
However, both the largest political party in the valley, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) are clueless about the participation of their councilors with the Home Minister.
PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari talking with The Kashmir Walla said that he wasn’t aware about today’s meeting with the Home Minister and is currently out of station.
“I will try to find out the details of the invite. I am not in Kashmir and neither am I aware of any invitation,” Bukhari said.
National Conference’s (NC) provincial spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar also expressed his ignorance about an invitation sent to his party.
“I am not aware of any invitation sent to us,” Dar said.
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, convenor and chief spokesperson of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) said that the alliance also has not received any invitation from the Home Ministry for any meeting.
“PAGD has not received any formal invitation and neither has there been any follow-up to our meeting with the Prime Minister in June this year,” Tarigami said.
The PAGD, a political amalgam, came into existence to fight for the restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, after the Government of India (GoI) through a presidential order unilaterally removed the Article 370 and divided the state into two Union Territories (UT) – Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Home Minister Amit Shah was on a three day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to review the security situation and steps taken to combat militancy in the erstwhile state.
However, Shah didn’t meet any leadership from the mainstream political parties during his visit, rather criticized them for mishandling J-K for their own benefits.
Earlier while addressing a public gathering at SKICC, Shah targeted NC and PDP for depriving common people to surface on the political map in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Those questioning me should answer as to why youth were deprived of becoming Sarpanchs and Panchs,” Shah said.
“There was a chief minister who would leave people suffering and spend six months in London every year. Now we have young sarpanchs, panchs and other representatives, who can become MPs, MLAs and also the Chief Minister,” he said, adding that” J & K will have a CM who will stay with people in districts.”
PDP president and chief minister Mehbooba Mufti accused the Government of India (GoI) for the current situation in the region.
“This crisis is of GOIs making & instead of reaching out they opted for cosmetic steps that don’t address the actual problem. Ideally HM’s visit should have been preceded by following up on PM’s assurances post the all party meeting.(sic),” Mehbooba tweeted.
However, sources told The Kashmir Walla that some DDC members from both NC and PDP are going to meet the Home Minister in their individual capacity.
“Some DDC members are going to meet with the Home Minister. But they are doing it in their individual capacity without the party’s clearance,” they said.
According to the reports, on October 23, Shah while chairing a high-profile security meeting in Srinagar sought answers on deadly gunfights between militants and government forces personnel following the recent spike in killing of civilians, including some non-local migrant workers, and threats posed by the new militant outfits.
