Don't give speeches, participate in debate over Kashmir unrest in Parliament: Digvijaya tells PM

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he should not to give speeches on sensitive issues like Dalit atrocities and Kashmir unrest, and instead participate in debates in Parliament on the issues.

"If you will see the political life of Prime Minister Modi, you will see that during his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat, how much he had participated in the state assembly. But we are happy that after becoming the Prime Minister, his participation in the Parliament has increased," Singh told reporters here.

The senior Congress leader further said the Prime Minister talks about the atrocities conducted on Dalits in Una in Hyderabad and speaks about Kashmir in Jhabua.

"With the help of his speeches, he is raising those sensitive issues which should be otherwise raised in the Parliament. He should respect the Parliament and should talk about the issue of Kashmir in Parliament. He should participate in the debate on the issue which is going to take place in the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi broke his silence on the ongoing violence in the Kashmir valley following the death in an encounter of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and said a handful of misguided people are hurting the great tradition of Kashmir and appealed to the youth to join him in fulfilling the dream of making the place the world's paradise.

"A handful of misguided people are hurting the great tradition of Kashmir. I appeal to the Kashmiri youth come along, we will together realise the dream of making Kashmir the paradise of the world. We give so much love to Kashmir, while some people are causing it a lot of harm," said the Prime Minister, while addressing a public rally after unveiling a statue of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad at his birthplace.

Stating that Kashmir is a paradise for Indians, Prime Minister Modi said, "Every Indian desires to go to Kashmir, every Indian loves Kashmir. The boys, who should be holding laptops, bats and balls in their hands and dreams in their hearts, are carrying stones."

"The freedom that every Indian has also belongs to every Kashmiri. We want the same bright future for every youth in Kashmir. We are the people, who walk the path that Atal Bihari Vajpayee took when it comes to Kashmir," he added while asserting that Kashmir wants peace.

The Prime Minister further said the Centre as well as the BJP-PDP coalition government under Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is making all efforts to solve the problems of Kashmir through development.

"The citizen of Kashmir wants to earn more money through tourism. We want to provide employment opportunities to the Kashmiri youth," he said.

Expressing his gratitude to the nation and the opposition for showing solidarity with the Centre on the matter, the Prime Minister said, "I want to thank the nation, I want to thank Congress that we all very maturely made attempts to deal with the situation in Kashmir.