Neither India nor Pak can be absolved: D. Raja on Kashmir unrest

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Sunday said both India and Pakistan are responsible for turmoil in the Kashmir valley.

Raja also appeared to be in tune with former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's assertion that Pakistan cannot be blamed for the unrest in Kashmir.

"I partially agree with Omar' statement as Pakistan cannot be absolved from the Kashmir crisis. And at the same time, there are also some lapses on our side," Raja told ANI.

Accusing the government of failing to safeguard Article 370 of the Constitution, the CPI leader further said the successive governments have failed to keep the promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

"We should look at ourselves and analyze the lapses and mistakes on our part, but at the other end one cannot say that Pakistan has nothing to do with Kashmir clash," he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Omar lambasted the Centre for failing to take concrete measures to curb the unrest in Kashmir post the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and said that it would be a "grave mistake" to always blame Pakistan and turn a blind eye to internal issues.

"Simply blaming Pakistan for the present situation, then it would mean that we don't have to do anything to prevent the unrest, which I think would be a grave mistake. We need to have talks internally, we need to solve this political crisis and until we are conscious of this reality, I don't think we can take any concrete action," he said.

The National Conference leader, however, drew sharp flak from the ruling BJP, which stated that his statement was laced with double standards.

"He (Omar) is accusing himself, his father and grandfather, who have been at the helm of affairs for decades, which has led to this mess. So, we should also blame these wise worthies who left this mess. Present government is trying to clear the mess in the brief period of two years of power. He is trying to redeem what he and three generations of his party have done to Kashmir," Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said.