All-party delegation: Would have been very happy had Hurriyat leaders come, says Azad

Asserting that the Centre had announced that they would welcome everyone whether mainstream or non-mainstream parties, groups or individual, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said Hurriyat was invited by no less than J-K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in capacity of the Peoples Democratic Party president, but they did not turn up and we would have been very happy had they come.

Azad, however, said like in the past, some parties and MPs in their personal capacity met some people (Hurriyat), to which they did not object.

"In personal capacity, some leaders chose to meet them, but we are not privy to that because this was not disclosed in the all-party meeting that somebody is going or somebody has comeback or whom they met or what did they say since this was done in their personal capacity," the Congress leader told reporters.

"We had said that if somebody wanted to meet us, we would welcome them, we would not deny meeting any individual or individuals whether they come in groups or they come individually, we would welcome them, we would talk to them we would listen to them," added Azad.

Rejecting the notion that the all-party delegation was here to take a decision, Azad said, "The all-party delegation has come here to hear from the people of Kashmir, but expecting that it will take a decision here is not possible, because there are leaders from various political parties and the groups and from different fields like political parties, social activists and various other organisations. They have different views, which are compiled together and when the delegation returns to Delhi, then the government calls a meeting. In between, representatives of different parties talk to their respective party members about the entire proceeding. And then, they meet to find a solution to the problem."

"The solution to minor problems is found easily, but finding a solution to some complicated issue takes time, because there are deliberations on how to find a solution to that matter," he added.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said the all-party delegation led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the first day of its visit here met about 200 members in about 30 delegations from various sections of society and listened to their point of view to reach at a common solution to the current scenario in the state.

Before leaving for Srinagar, Singh had said, "We intend to talk to individuals and groups, who want peace and normalcy in the Kashmir Valley."

The delegation is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Home Minister chaired the meeting of the all-party delegation that was also attended by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given by the State Government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and it was emphasised that a clear roadmap needs to be drawn with a focus on the way forward, said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On Monday, the delegation will visit Jammu after meeting different civil society delegations in Srinagar in the morning.