All-Party Meet Today,Centre May Slash Perks To Kashmiri Separatists,
NEW DELHI : A blueprint for a solution to the Kashmir crisis is expected to be drawn at a meeting of political parties that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is holding with the all-party delegation today. Before the meeting, the Home Minister has met Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
At today’s all-party meeting are 26 lawmakers from 20 parties who made up the all-party delegation that visited Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also attending the meeting.
The government’s action could include scaling down security for separatists like hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who kept the gates of his Srinagar residence closed as the Left’s Sitaram Yechury and some other MPs attempted to meet him on Sunday. His supporters greeted them with anti-India slogans.
Mr Geelani and other separatists like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik also get airport privileges and free tickets to travel abroad, housing from the government and free medical services and the centre is considering withdrawing those perks.
The centre will also scrutinise their bank accounts and complete investigations in cases involving them as it seeks to send out a strong message against inciting young people in Kashmir, torn by violent clashes that have left over 70 people dead and nearly 10,000 injured since July 8, when Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was killed.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had led the all-party delegation to Kashmir, briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and also met top leaders of the BJP, including party chief Amit Shah and Finance Minster Arun Jaitley.PM Modi and Rajnath Singh also discussed an administrative outreach in Kashmir, where there are complaints that policies and schemes have not been reviewed regularly, sources said.
The centre is looking at sending delegations led by junior ministers and including people from different walks of life like academics and professionals, to learn about the people’s problems and suggest how schemes can be tweaked to benefit them more.
