Will stand up for J-K, keep highlighting Centre's insensitive approach: NC

Asserting that Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu's comments regarding the Kashmir unrest were irrelevant, the National Conference (NC) on Thursday stated that they would keep highlighting the extreme insensitivity and brutality in approach of the state government as well as the Centre on this grave matter.

Reaching out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, NC spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu told ANI that what Naidu or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thought was irrelevant.

"If they think that the NC is a group of Pak apologists or discussing the grief and the sorrow in Kashmir and standing up for the political dignity and human rights of their people, then they are welcome to call us any names. We will stand up for our people, we will keep highlighting the extreme insensitivity and brutality in approach of the state as well as the Central Government," he said.

Earlier, BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta hit out at NC leader Omar Abdullah for "absolving" Pakistan of its role in the current turmoil in the Valley.

"Leaders like Omar Abdullah, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami and Congress leaders who participated in yesterday's meeting of opposition parties in Srinagar are trying to fish in troubled waters. Omar Abdullah's tweets on a daily basis gave support to the ongoing agitation led by the extremists and terrorist groups at the behest of Pakistan," Gupta said.

Questioning former home minister P. Chidambaram's remarks on the Kashmir unrest, Naidu earlier in the day said it appears that the grand old party leaders are not guided by national interest but by political opportunism.

"What do they mean PDP, Congress, NC should come together? Are they trying to unsettle an elected government in the state?" Naidu said.

Chidambaram, who was home minister in the UPA government, blamed the PDP-BJP government for the deterioration in the situation in the Valley.

"I am afraid the way out of the crisis cannot be found by the present government. Congress, NC and, if willing, the PDP must come together to find a solution: firstly, an immediate solution to stop the violence and, then, a path forward that will bring hope, peace and prosperity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Stating that Pakistan was not the architect of the current unrest in the Valley, National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah had earlier urged the Centre to initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders in the state and with Islamabad to end the violence in the state.

"Pakistan may be fishing in troubled waters as has been their practice in past, but they are not the architect of this problem. They are not the ones keeping it alive," he said after chairing a meeting of opposition parties in Srinagar.