Rajnath Singh Defends Minor Stone-Pelters In J&K, Says Children Make Mistakes
"Talks can be held with everybody. For this exercise, being like-minded is not necessary but people should be right-minded," Singh said,
Home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday sought to reach out to the public in the Kashmir valley, saying cases against first-time stone-pelters were withdrawn as "children make mistakes" even as he said being "right-minded" rather than "like-minded" would facilitate dialogue.
"Talks can be held with everybody. For this exercise, being like-minded is not necessary but people should be right-minded," Singh said, adding, "There is extreme love in the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Jammu and Kashmir. It is our responsibility to provide a secure future to the youth."
PTI
The minister's formulation on a dialogue made it clear it was up to the Hurriyat to decide whether it wanted to be part of talks and and the Centre was not in a hurry to seek the separatist group's presence. The view in the government seems to be that talks with the Hurriyat cannot come about without the group making clear it wanted to engage in dialogue and not obstruct peace.
At a press conference, the minister sharply attacked the separatist alliance without naming it saying, "They give education to their own kids and put stones in the hands of other kids. I appeal to them to treat the kids of others just like they treat their own." His comments made it clear he considers the Hurriyat an obstacle rather than a facilitator of peace.
"We decided to withdraw FIRs against 10,000 youths involved in first-time stone-pelting for the sake of their future," he said.
Singh also side-stepped alliance partner PDP's plea to extend the Ramzan ceasefire against terrorists in the state. He said the decision could be taken only after a review meeting with the chief minister and security agencies. "I am pained some people are encouraging terrorism and they did not keep restraint during Ramzan," he said.
Lashing out at the neighbouring country, Singh said if Pakistan was not able to stop the use of its soil for terrorism, it should take India's help in combating it.
