Stressing on the need for a "reconciliatory" stance, Madhav expressed hope that the government will take the process forward once "normalcy" is restored in the state, which has recently been rocked by violent protests.
Speaking at the release of 'The Kashmir Story', authored by Arjan Nath Chaku and Inder K Chaku, Madhav warned against equating the student protests at NIT Srinagar and the issue of Kashmiri pandits.
"Under the new dispensation we are making a fresh attempt. I fully agree with the suspicion, yet under the given cicumstances we thought let us give it another try. If we fail, people are there to judge us. If things normalise soon in the valley I am sure the government will take this process forward," he said.
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Kher, who was recently denied permission to visit NIT
Srinagar, termed as a "tragedy" the fact that the book was being launched in the national capital and not the Jammu and Kashmir capital.
Speaking about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, Kher said, "When there is a Dadri, which was a really unfortunate incident, you see a lot of people writing about it but the same people don't talk about the Pandits."
Madhav said the governments in Srinagar and Delhi were trying to tackle the anti-national forces in the best possible manner. "You have to tackle them legally when you are in the government. You cannot just take out the gun and shoot them."
"You cannot say this situation has cropped up in 2015 or 16. Jammu and Kashmir has had a long history of such anti-national sentiments," he said.
Madhav said the focus should be on increasing the area of influence in the Valley instead of confrontation so that the national flag can be handed over to the separatists as well after winning them over.