Tutored brilliance

At the all-party meeting on Jammu & Kashmir, many leaders waited for signals from either UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi or the BJP brass to decide their line of suggestion to the government on the Kashmir crisis. Gandhi remained silent on the contentious issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), so some parties like RJD also chose to maintain silence. SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was sitting next to BJP’s Arun Jaitley. Before Yadav’s turn, Jaitley tutored him to vehemently oppose any dilution or revocation of AFSPA. Yadav, a former Defence Minister who once landed at Siachen in dhoti, quickly understood the sentiments of the army and raised his voice against any move to demoralise the armed forces in Kashmir.