Kashmir: Cong wants Modi to make statement, last J&K Sadr-e-Riyasat Karan Singh says “unprecedented situation”

Amid growing apprehensions and uncertainty over the deployment of extra troops in the Valley, the Congress party hit out at Modi government on Saturday, pressing for a statement from Prime Minister Modi on the issue.

Condemning the government’s decision to curtail the Amarnath Yatra, Congress said that PM Modi should make a statement in Parliament over the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Saying that the entire country is worried, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad recalled that Amarnath Yatra has never been curtailed, even when the pilgrimage was targeted by terrorists in last decades.

“The Prime Minister should make statements in both the houses of Parliament on the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir. It is his duty,” said Azad.

Azad also blamed BJP for spreading fear and hatred in the Valley.

“Pilgrim and tourists were living peacefully in Kashmir but the government is asking them to leave, spreading fear through advisories,” he added.

The last Sadr-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir and a senior politician, Karan Singh also addressed the conference and termed the situation in the valley as “unprecedented”.

“Everybody is in a state of shock after the Modi government issued advisory curtailing Amarnath Yatra. An atmosphere of fear and apprehension has gripped the state,” he said.

Stating that he has been in the politics for last 70 years but situations in the Valley were never so alarming, Karan Singh asked, “Why are people being forced to suffer in Jammu and Kashmir?”

When asked will Modi government revoke Article – 370 of the Constitution, senior Congress leader, P Chidambaram lamented that BJP’s understanding of the Indian Constitution is completely wrong. However, he refused to comment on “misadventures” of the Modi government.