Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday welcomed Jammu and Kashmir Government's order of withdrawing cases against 4,327 youth involved in protests, saying it would give them a chance to build their future.
"The list is cleared by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as we thought that all the protesters should be given another chance. We will watch their developments and we are a democratic humane society not an Islamic terrorist society, therefore, we are giving them an opportunity to go back to school and be brilliant students," Swamy told ANI.
However, the firebrand leader added that the accused youth could be again taken into custody if they did not follow rules.
On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti ordered the withdrawal of cases against youth involved in 744 cases of stone pelting in the valley.
Last year the chief minister ordered withdrawal of 104 cases against 634 people.
The decision was made on the basis of the report submitted by a high-powered committee headed by Director General of Police (DGP), said an official.
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The chief minister initiated the review of cases against youth from 2008 to 2014 and in the first instance 104 cases involving 634 youth were withdrawn within two months of her assuming power.
The process was disrupted due to unrest in the valley last year.
With this, the total number of cases withdrawn so far on the directions of the chief minister has gone up to 848, and the people benefitting out of these withdrawals stand at 4957.
Mufti recently also directed review of cases from 2015-2017 and decision on the same would be taken on the receipt of report by the high-powered committee.