CPI-M leaders meet Rajnath over Kashmir unrest

A delegation of CPI-M leaders led by its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury today met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and asked the Centre to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest.
"We conveyed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should use the floor of Parliament in reaching out to the people of state and assure them of their safety besides expressing grief for loss of several lives in police firing," CPI-M MLA from Kashmir Valley Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami told reporters after the meeting.
Tarigmai, who was part of the delegation that also comprised an MP Mohammed Saleem, said he had urged the government for putting an immediate end to use of pellet guns in controlling the mobs.

"I drew his attention to his speech in Parliament on Monday during which the Home Minister assured that security forces had been asked for restraint, the same evening army killed three people in Qazigund," he said and asked whether the assurances given by the Centre are actually translated into action on the ground.
The delegation asked the Home Minister to call for an All party meeting in Delhi which will select a combined delegation to travel to the Valley and talk to various sections of people.
"This is important and the government should treat the situation in the state more seriously," Tarigami said.

The delegation told the Home Minister that gagging of media in the state was "a sad day for democracy" and also expressed wonder over the confusing statements being issued by the state government.

"On one hand the Education Minister Naeem Akhther asks the newspaper owners to stop printing for two-three days, on the other Amitabh Mattoo, advisor of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, apologises to the newspaper owners and also states that the Chief Minister was not aware that newspapers were not being published.
"I asked the Home Minister whether he knew who was controlling the affairs in state on day-to-day basis where the Chief Minister was so ignorant," he said.

The unrest in the Valley erupted after the killing of young Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8 and has claimed 42 lives.