J&K BJP decides to boycott interlocutors

The party has taken this decision in view of several "irritating utterances" made by the interlocutors, especially Dileep Padgaonkar, on Kashmir and Pakistan, the BJP state unit chief Shamsher Singh Manhas said at a press conference here.

He said the three interlocutors have raised doubts about their credibility by making utterances as "Kashmir dispute" and saying that dialogue is necessary with Pakistan, thereby hurting the sentiments of nationalist forces in the state.

"Their statements appear as pre-judging the issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir," Manhas said.

Instead of talking about taking back the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), for which Parliament has passed a unanimous resolution in 1994, the interlocutors seem to be addressing the secessionist and separatist elements in the state, he said adding, "One wonders whether they are representing India or Pakistan."

The BJP leader pointed out that the interlocutors met jailed inmates and pro-separatist and Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir, "which again indicates that they are not pursuing the mandate given to them for meeting all shades of opinion in the state."

Demanding abrogation of Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Manhas said, "Continuance of this Article has induced a sense of separatism among some sections of people as a result of which we have been facing problems in the state.

"There is no need to have separate Constitution and separate flag for J&K and it should become a part of the country as any other state in India."The BJP leader also appealed to different political parties and people in Jammu to boycott the interlocutors during their stay in the winter capital.