BJP hits out at PDP over its remarks on AoA

A day after the PDP said that delay in resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan has the potential of undermining the Agenda of Alliance of the PDP-BJP government, the BJP said such remarks can lead to mistrust and add to confusion among the people.

"The BJP has refuted the repeated claims being made in the media by Sartaj Madni, PDP Vice-President, that dialogue with Pakistan was the first and last condition for forging alliance with the BJP," BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta said in a statement.

Madni had yesterday said that delay in resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan has the potential of undermining the Agenda of Alliance of the PDP-BJP government.

He had said the AoA was a commitment to the people to resolve the Kashmir problem through "reconciliation and dialogue".

The AoA, which formed the basis for PDP-BJP forming a government in Jammu and Kashmir, was an express commitment to the people of the state on resolution of Kashmir problem through reconciliation and dialogue, he had said.

He also asserted that delay in resumption of sustainable dialogue and revival of peace initiatives between India and Pakistan are causing worries and have the potential of undermining the AoA.

Gupta responded by saying that such "selective quoting from the AoA can lead to mistrust and add to confusion among the people".

The coalition government was formed, Gupta said, as a Governance Alliance without any pre-conditions to provide a stable and representative government that will work towards providing smart governance, ensuring self-sustaining and balanced development across the three regions and to create conditions to facilitate resolution of all issues of J&K.

"AoA nowhere refers to the Kashmir problem but is committed to resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K," Gupta asserted.

As far as Indo-Pak relations are concerned, he said, the AoA envisions the coalition government to support and strengthen the initiatives and approach taken by the Central government to create a reconciliatory environment for peace and development within the sub-continent.

"Despite best efforts of the Modi government to offer a reconciliatory hand to Pakistan, there has been no reciprocal gesture by Pakistan. Instead, Pakistan has not only been abetting and aiding terror operations across the border, it has also been killing our innocent civilians living on the LoC and the IB through unprovoked ceasefire violations", Gupta said.

In such an environment the PDP needs to condemn Pakistan and support the stand of the Centre rather than advocating for talks with Pakistan, he added.

The BJP leader said the onus lies on Pakistan to create a conducive environment for sustained dialogue process to resume.

Gupta also said there were "many issues" in the AoA beyond Indo-Pak relations that affect the lives of the people of the state.

He counted these "many issues" as: return to the Valley of Kashmiri Pandits with dignity, settlement of West Pakistan refugees, extending all benefits accruing to the people living on the LoC to the people living on IB, and constitution of a Delimitation Commission