Congress asks Twitter-savvy PM to speak from heart with Kashmiris

Coming down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the concerns of the Kashmiris in Parliament, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Tuesday there is murder of humanity and democracy in Kashmir and called for integration of hearts for an amicable solution to the crisis.

Escalating his attack on the Prime Minister, Azad said he tweets about everything, but not Kashmir.

"The law and order is not the sole responsibility of the Kashmir Police.the paramilitary forces are also involved. You call Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India, but there needs to be integration of hearts between the people of India and Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

Asserting that the Congress Party has been repetitively demanding that the Prime Minister should come and make statements on the Kashmir and Dalit issues in the Parliament, Azad said, "Don't just love Kashmir for its beauty, love Kashmir for its people, and love the children and people who lost their eyes in protests."

"When you speak from the heart, the message reaches the people in Kashmir. But if you just speak from the tongue, it remains within the walls of the Parliament," he added.

The senior Congress leader thanked Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on behalf of the Opposition for allowing discussion on Kashmir issue in the Parliament.

"We did not hear the Prime Minister's statement on Dalit issues here in the Parliament. We got to hear about his views from Telangana. He should speak in the Rajya Sabha on the Kashmir issue," Azad told the Rajya Sabha.

Pointing out that there is a difference between communalism and separatism, Azad said the militants do not have any religion, be they from Punjab or Kashmir.

"There is murder of humanity and democracy in Kashmir. 'Kashmiriyat' and 'Insaniyat' are murdered by pellet guns. We all should jointly take out a solution for this. Everyone in Kashmir is a victim of militancy. Many of us have lost their near and dear ones due to this militancy in Kashmir," he added.

Taking a jibe at the BJP-PDP coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, the senior Congress leader called for integration between the Centre and state government.

Azad said that Prime Minister Modi would have made the statement from Parliament and not from Madhya Pradesh had there been integration.

Asserting that the former UPA regime initiated many confidence building measures, the Congress leader further said the Parliament must appeal people for peace in Kashmir.

"Jammu and Kashmir has a curfew, many people have been injured. Civilians have faced losses. And as Parliament is on, we all need to share their pain," said Azad.

There should be an all-party delegation and a meeting that needs to be sent to Jammu and Kashmir. It should be announced during the Parliament," he added.