Union minister Jitendra Singh today asserted that Dineshwar Sharma was not just an "interlocutor" but a "special representative" to carry out sustained dialogue process in the Valley.
The Centre had recently notified the appointment of Sharma, former director of the Intelligence Bureau, as its interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir.
Singh said the situation in Kashmir had witnessed a sea change and the appointment (of Sharma) did not mean an end of security operations.
"Some people say that we have made a U-turn by initiating a dialogue (in Jammu and Kashmir with the appointment of Sharma). He is not an interlocutor, his appointment is to carry forward the process set into motion by (Union Home Minister) Rajnath Singh so that nobody can say tomorrow that a dialogue is not happening. Whoever wants to put forth his point can meet him," he noted.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office was addressing 'Vilay Diwas' (Integration Day) function, which marks the signing of the instrument of accession by the state's last dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh on this day in 1947.
Singh said the dialogue process was already in progress in the Valley as the home minister had met with hundreds of delegations during his multiple visits to the state.
In an apparent reference to National Conference leader Omar Abullah, the Union minister said, "A politician who had lost (power) comes out with a tweet to change the agenda at a time when the home minister was speaking to the media over the appointment of Sharma, and asked whether it means an end to NIA raids and anti-terrorist operations".
"The operations against terrorists will continue as before. These are different issues," he said.
Reacting on the appointment of Dineshwar Sharma, Abdullah had said the acceptance of the political nature of the issue was a defeat of those who saw force as a solution.
The NC leader had also sought to know the implications of the move on the NIA investigations into the terror funding cases in the Valley.
Singh also hit out at the separatists by claiming that the latter's so-called freedom struggle was a "manufactured" one.
He said there was an awakening among the youth of the Valley who have started understanding the real face of separatism and three generations of family rule.
"The people of Kashmir have started understanding this...they have started understanding that they are being deceived for the last three generations," he said.
The Union minister also noted that history had not done justice to Maharaja Hari Singh.
"The injustice with Maharaja started the day (former prime minister) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru decided to deal with Jammu and Kashmir on his own and sidelined Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I am of the opinion that if Nehru had given him the freedom to tackle Jammu and Kashmir like he did with other kingdoms, the history of the state would have been different," he said.
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