State BJP spokesperson Prof. Virender Gupta appreciated the efforts of the Concerned Citizen Group led by Yashvant Sinha with other members being Kapil Kak AVM (Retd), Bharat Bhushan, Editor Catch News and Sushatra Barve, head of Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, of reaching out to the people in Valley and talking to various political leaders and groups, including the separatists. However, the spokesperson said that the group should have met the people of all sections of the Kashmir society like Gujjar, Bakarwal, Shia Muslims and the minority communities and instead of vising Srinagar city, it should have interacted with the rural population of Kashmir too. He also said that in order to take the comprehensive view of the Jammu and Kashmir issue it was obligatory on the part of the group to visit Jammu region and Ladakh region to ascertain the views of the people residing in these regions. The group must note that Kashmir Valley merely constitutes about the 15 percent area of Jammu and Kashmir excluding the area under illegal occupation of Pakistan, and has total population less than 50 percent of the State.
Prof. Virender said that any step taken in the Valley or any solution found for Kashmir province would have serious implications not only on the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions but also on the silent majority of the Valley which always remained neglected in the last about seventy years since accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India took place. He added that the group must have gone into the history of Jammu and Kashmir and studied the events that took place in 1947 and before. The spokesperson elaborated that Jammu and Kashmir State has three regions separated from each other via Pirpanjal and Zozila mountains. Each region has its own distinct culture, history and language which are different from the other an. The political and social aspiration of the people of these regions are different from each other. The spokesperson brought into the notice of the group members that people of Jammu and Ladakh opposed the introduction of Article 370 and the so called Delhi Accord of 1952 and launched big agitations against them as the people of these region were opposed to the basic philosophy of Sheikh Abdullah and Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru of creating a state with in a state and of treating Jammu and Kashmir differently than other princely states.
He, therefore advised the group headed by Yashvant Sinha for suggesting the way out that is acceptable to people of all the regions of the state. Any solution found keeping Kashmir only in mind shall lead to turmoil in other parts of the State which so far have remained peaceful and contributing in the functioning of the State Administration.
