Narendra Modi's love for Kashmir 'one-sided', says Sharad Yadav

PM Modi on Tuesday had said that a handful of misguided people are hurting the great tradition of Kashmir

Former Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mere reference to Kashmir in his speech is not enough and advised the Centre to come up with political measures to win the trust of the people of the valley.

Yadav said Prime Minister's love for Kashmir is one sided and that the central government will have to make efforts to make the people of the Valley reciprocate that affection.

"Prime Minister might say anything but it does not make any difference. The condition in Jammu and Kashmir is very bad. He says that we all love Kashmir, but this I would say is one sided love. We have to chalk out such political measures that the people of Jammu and Kashmir also start loving us," said Yadav.

Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday 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.