BJP wants to draw political mileage out of Kashmir unrest: JD(U)

The Janata Dal (United) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the Kashmir issue for political gains.

Responding to a question about the all-party delegation's visit to the Valley, JD (U) leader Sunil Kumar told ANI, "It is BJP's agenda to not let peace prevail in Kashmir so that this agenda remains alive in the country and the BJP can draw political mileage out of it."

He said the all-party delegation is a good initiative to bring peace in Kashmir, but the BJP-PDP Government in Kashmir is in a state of confusion.

He added that the central government does not have a well-defined policy for Kashmir.

"It is important to know that what is the Centre's policy for Kashmir, under which it will work. But it is not so," said Kumar.

"In this scenario, only time will tell what is the BJP's intention behind the all-party delegation," he added.

He further said the country cannot attain peace till there is no peace in Kashmir.

On the Central's approval of the use of chilli-based 'Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide' (PAVA) shells as an alternative to pellet guns for controlling agitating crowd, the JD(U) leader said pellet guns are an inhuman weapon that police used to torture people and bringing an end to it is a good thing.

On the issue of pellet guns, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said, "We deal with all big protests across the country. Similarly, Kashmir is also a part of this country and we need to treat it in the same manner."

He said it is strange that the Centre was unable to find an alternative to pellet guns even as science has progressed so much.

On the all-party delegation's visit, he said, "The Kashmir problem is serious and that is why we are all going there to find a solution to this problem. We will meet people. We will also see who else we can meet for the talks.