Aakash Hassan
Jammu
Terming the Agenda of Alliance of the present Government as a comprehensive document to address the issues confronting the State, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday appealed all segments of opinion, besides the national leadership, to help in the effective implementation of the same.
Replying to the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address in the Legislative Assembly today, the Chief Minister said the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) already contains what has been agreed upon by all the political parties in the State in terms of Round Table Conferences and the recommendations of various Working Groups and to which every party is a signatory. “We don’t have to invent a new wheel”, she said while appealing to build a consensus around the AoA to address the issues confronting Jammu & Kashmir. This, she said, would be the biggest tribute to the unfortunates who have been continuous victims of acrimony in the State.
Elaborating, Mehbooba Mufti said be it the Dr Rangarajan Committee or other working groups, the implementation of all their recommendations is contained in the Agenda of Alliance. Be it the opening up of more routes or facilitating travel across LoC, return back of power projects or lands from the occupation of security forces, revocation of AFSPA or initiating dialogue with all stakeholders in the State, the implementation of the same has been contained well in the Agenda of Alliance reached between PDP and BJP.
The Chief Minister said she was happy that the Agenda of Alliance is often being referred to even by opposition which she said displays the effectiveness of the document. She said this is a good opportunity for the national leadership also to play its role by helping in the implementation of the same. She said while the Government at Centre has a huge mandate of the people, the composition of present State assembly is so diverse that it truly reflects the ideas and aspirations of every region of the State. She said the State’s Legislative Assembly has a greater role in the resolution of issues the State is faced with because, she said, ideas can only be challenged with counter ideas and arguments.
Mehbooba Mufti said the constitutional turf of the country is so wide that it can easily accommodate the aspirations and sentiments of people of the State. This, she said, would not only get the State out of its present phase of uncertainties but also strengthen the relations between the State and rest of the country. She, however, asked the political parties to allay the fears of each other on the issues on which they have stated positions so that the whole polity of the State moves in unison to address the burning issues confronting Jammu & Kashmir.
The Chief Minister said she has consistently believed to make Jammu & Kashmir a bridge of faith between India and Pakistan as history and geography cannot be divorced from the present status of these two neighboring countries. She said whenever she met the Prime Minister, she impressed upon him the need for continuous peaceful engagement and friendship between the two countries as the people of the State have a direct bearing of the relations between the two countries. “We have to learn to live together”, she said while expressing the hope that the present phase of relations between the two countries would finally give way to an era of cooperation and amity.
On the issue of rehabilitation of pandits, refugees and other victims of history, the Chief Minister said we have to settle these smaller issues to unbundle the bigger knot in the State. She said the communities and regions have to be brought closer, remove the fears about each other and then only can the State move ahead looking for solutions to its problems.
