PM, Finance Minister not on same page on Kashmir: Congress

The Congress on Monday questioned the "contradictory policy" of the government on Jammu and Kashmir and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were "not on the same page" on the sensitive issue.

The Congress also said that the Prime Minister is talking about dialogue, "but with whom does he want to have a dialouge". It suggested a "coherant approach" towards the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Finance Minister should explain the contradiction between what he is saying and what the Prime Minister is saying. The essence of the Finance Minister's statement was that there is no political problem in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a developmental problem. Development is the anti-dote to the 45 days of curfew which has been prevailing in the Valley," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters.

"The Prime Minister, on the other hand, for two years has been using three words Insaniyat, Jamooriyat, Kashmiriyat, which we do not think that he himself understands the essence of these concepts. This is mere empty rhetoric of the Prime Minister," said Tewari.

"Today, he talks about dialouge. So, if the Prime Minister is talking about a dialogue, but the dialogue is going to be with whom? So, in essence the PM and the finance minister are not on the same page," added Tewari.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during a meet with a delegation of opposition parties from Jammu and Kashmir "acknowledged that only development can't resolve the problem in Jammu and Kashmir".

--IANS

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