The Narendra Modi government should take immediate steps to stop targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers in Jammu and Kashmir and relocate them to secure places within 24 hours, the Congress said on Friday.
Separately, senior leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, interacting with reporters in Raipur, questioned the silence of BJP leaders over “the killing of Hindus” in Kashmir valley.
“They used to trumpet the removal Article 370 in J&K, broke the State into three parts and imposed Governor’s Rule. Now, why are Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus being killed? Who will take responsibility for the killings of the Pandits and Hindus?” asked Mr. Baghel.
“They had the time to watch the movie Kashmir Files, but now when people are actually being killed, the BJP-RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] people are silent. The important thing is that their strategy has completely failed,” the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister added.
Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha, who introduced himself as a Kashmiri Pandit at the party’s briefing, urged the Modi government to inform the country of the steps taken to restore peace. He also asked the government to take other political parties on board to restore a sense of confidence among the panic-stricken people.
“Today, people are being killed inside government offices, and even government offices are not safe. Please take them to secure places and put security around them,” he said.
Mr. Tankha said that there were over 10,000 non-Kashmiris working in the Kashmir Valley and they needed to be assured if the government did not want them to flee.
“When the issue was debated in Parliament, I had said that Kashmir issue is larger than Article 370, which was a mere law that was diluted as well. To address Kashmir, you need a lot of statesmanship and it was lacking. If you want peace and amity, then you have to address stakeholders,” he said, without spelling out who he meant by stakeholders.
Apart from security, the Congress as well as other Opposition leaders demanded compensation for those who died in the recent targeted killings.
Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah asking for compensation for the victims and an investigation into the killings.
“In view of the current situation in Kashmir, I request you to provide adequate security to the Hindu community in Kashmir. Considering the gravity of the situation, I also request you to order an investigation into the recent killings by a competent authority,” the Sena MP wrote.
