Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on Kashmir today drew a mixed response with opposition parties terming it as "belated" and betraying lack of understanding of the present turmoil, while BJP's alliance partner PDP voiced hope it would mark a fresh beginning in addressing the issues faced by the troubled state.
Former chief minister and working president of National Conference Omar Abdullah said the statement showed lack of understanding of the Prime Minister that the present turmoil was not due to lack of development but unwillingness of the Centre to address the Kashmir issue.
Reacting to Modi's speech, Omar tweeted: "Herein lies the crux of the problem - the unwillingness to accept that development doesn't solve all problems."
He was reacting to Modi's speech at Bhabhra in Madhya Pradesh where the Prime Minister said, "Be it the Jammu and Kashmir government under Mehbooba Mufti or the central government, we are finding solution to all problems through development."
Immediately after the Prime Minister delivered his speech, Omar had merely tweeted "finally" but, in a subsequent tweet, voiced his disagreement with Modi's view that development was the panacea for all problems, including the Kashmir issue.
The National Conference has been insisting that the Kashmir problem was a political and not merely a law and order issue which required a dialogue with all stakeholders. Omar, through his tweet, sought to find fault with the Centre's perception that development could resolve the Kashmir problem.
Congress spokesman said the Prime Minister's intervention on Kashmir situation was "belated" and hoped that the Prime Minister will respond to the debate and discussion being held tomorrow in Parliament.
"We feel that Prime Minister should have spoken on the current unrest early, besides expressing sympathy and concern for the people of Kashmir," a state Congress spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier, a National Conference spokesman reacted cautiously to the Prime Minister's willingness to hold talks to end the over a month long strife in the Valley, saying it would wait for "action" and mere words were not enough.
The spokesman said, Kashmiris have been "fed with words for long" and "we only hope that the words now get translated into action" and the unrest is brought to an end through a process of dialogue. "While we welcome the statement of the Prime Minister on Kashmir today, it should have come much earlier," the spokesman said.
BJP's partner in the state's ruling coalition PDP, however, welcomed Modi's statement, expressing hope that it would mark a fresh beginning to a sustained dialogue process to address the issues plaguing the state.
"We welcome the Prime Minister's intervention and hope that it will mark a fresh beginning in a sustained dialogue process for addressing the issues confronted by the state," senior PDP leader and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.
