Kashmir interlocutor's framework of conversation not clear: Congress

Questioning interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma's visit to Jammu and Kashmir when the framework of conversation he was supposed to have was not known, the Congress on Monday said the Narendra Modi government lacks vision and policy for restoring normalcy in the state.

"Any effort to restore peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir is always welcome. However, the Modi government neither has a vision nor a policy, or a direction, timeline or a framework for restoration of normalcy in the state," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

"What is Modiji's policy? Now an interlocutor has been sent by the government. What is the framework of conversation that this interlocutor is supposed to have... (it) is unknown to everybody. Who are the stakeholders whom the Prime Minister has authorized the interlocutor to speak with is also unknown.

"What is his jurisdiction? What is his line? What is his brief? What is it that Modiji and his government is seeking to achieve through the interlocutor is also not clear. So again it seems to be becoming another photo opp," he added.

"For them, the state seems to have become a matter of empty rhetoric and sometimes photo opportunities. Modi Government continues to state different lines on Jammu and Kashmir from time to time, and it is the "people of the state who are facing the brunt on account of lack of a clear cut policy of the current government", Surjewala added.

He also accused the the state's PDP-BJP government of continuing to protect and sometimes shelter separatists.

--IANS

sid/vd