J-K BJP attacks NC, Congress on autonomy stand

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP today attacked the opposition National Conference (NC) and the Congress for their support for greater autonomy to the state, saying it appeared to be a part of a "sinister design" to derail the Centre's effort to find a solution to the Kashmir imbroglio.
The state BJP was reacting to a statement of Congress leader P Chidambaram yesterday, and a resolution passed by the NC today vowing to continue its struggle for the restoration of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir in its "original, pristine form".
"The fact is that the NC and the Congress have nothing concrete to offer to the people of Kashmir except false promises and dubious political machinations to ensure that the pot continues to boil in Kashmir," BJP state spokesperson Brigadier (retd) Anil Gupta said in a statement here.

"It also appears to be a part of a sinister design to derail the sustained dialogue process initiated by the (Union) government to find a final and lasting solution to the imbroglio," Gupta said.
Chidambaram had said in poll-bound Gujarat's Rajkot that when the people of Jammu and Kashmir ask for "azadi", most of them mean greater autonomy. Asked if he still thinks the state should be given greater autonomy, the former Union home minister said: "Yes, I do."
Gupta criticised the Congress leader's remarks as "opportunistic, contradictory, misleading and motivated". He termed the Congress the "architect of the present mess" in the state.

"During the six decades it ruled at the Centre and four decades in the state, the party made no move to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio created by it due to its flawed policies," he alleged.

The BJP leader accused the Congress of making "false promises and loud statements" which led to the "current mess" and created a "wide rift between the Valley (people) and rest of the nation," he added.
He said the restoration of the constitutional situation in Jammu and Kashmir to its pre-1953 status had been discussed in detail by former chief minister Sheikh Abdullah with former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1974-75.

"It is noteworthy that the agreement signed after these negotiations had affirmed that provisions of the Constitution of India already applied to the state of Jammu and Kashmir without adaptation or modification and are unalterable.
"If this was the stand of the Congress and the NC in 1975, why is it that the issue is being raised time and again by the successors of Abdullah, and the Congress is maintaining a dual policy on the issue," Gupta questioned.