Modi govt. bungled Kashmir problem, says Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Sunday accused the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of mismanaging the Jammu and Kashmir problem.

"They have installed a government, where the two wings of the government are working against each other. The atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir is deteriorating day in and day out," Dr. Singh said at the 84th Congress Plenary Session here.

Underpinning his point, the senior Congress leaders said, "our borders are not secure, whether it is the cross-border terrorism or internal terrorism, internal insurgency. There are issues today, which are the source of great worry to all our citizens and the Modi government has not found ways and means of tackling with this problem."

Dr. Manmohan Singh also said the need of the hour was to recognise the problems of the restive state.

"Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and we all must recognise that and we do recognise, but we also must recognise that our country needs to recognise the special problems of Jammu and Kashmir and we must deal with those problems with all seriousness," he added.

While speaking on the same subject, Dr. Singh also advocated for strong relations with the neighbouring countries.

"The Congress party worked in that direction, whether it is Bangladesh, whether it is Pakistan, whether it is Nepal, whether it is Sri Lanka, whether it is other countries including China. We have problems but these problems are to be sorted out peacefully and not in an atmosphere of hostility and shouting at each other," he said.