Govt. tried to redeem an anomaly of past by granting domicile certificate: Jitendra Singh

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the opposition was having a problem with the present regime, as it has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past by granting domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan.

"As far as the problem of political activists are concerned, there are of two classes. One were those who were in power both at the Centre and in the state for last 70 years, but they could not address this issue. That is why they are having problem as to how the BJP has managed to address the problem. The government led by the BJP who is there for the last two years has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past," Singh told ANI.

Singh said there are activists who tried to sustain their politics by catering to Kashmir centric sentiments, adding that they are not only causing harm to the cause of India, but also to the valley.

"On the other hand, some of them chose Jammu and Kashmir as their home cannot be held to ransom therefore a proof of identity is a basic right that they would be seeking to gain a reasonable employment. This is something the earlier government should have done," he added.

As protests and strike were observed by large sections of the people in the Kashmir Valley against the decision to grant domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan, both separatists and mainstream opposition parties took on the BJP-PDP government.

Clashes were reported from Sopore town in north Kashmir after the Friday prayers and the police used tear smoke shells and cane-charge to disperse the protesters.