SRINAGAR: Senior CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami on Thursday blamed New Delhi’s “denial” to dialogue for pushing Kashmiri youth towards militancy.
Addressing a presser at his Gupkar residence, Tarigami, who is state’s general secretary for the CPI (M), said Modi government consistently refuses to initiate a political dialogue with all the political forces, including the voices of dissent.
“This disastrous policy of the government is alienating more sections of the population and driving number of youth to militancy,” he added.
He said that while violence has engulfed Kashmir, the response of Government of India has been the only use of “disproportionate force which compounds the vicious cycle of violence.”
“Instead of listening to the grievances of Kashmiris and resolving the issue through a credible process of dialogue, the BJP government’s stubborn attempts to subdue people’s political aspirations are making the situation worse,” he said.
Tarigami added the unarmed innocent civilians killed in Kulgam has deeply shaken whole Kashmir valley.
“Legitimate question of the people is whether this tragedy could have been averted. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of 2012 makes it mandatory on security forces to sanitize the encounter site before leaving,” he said.
He asked why the gunfight site in Laroo village was not sanitised, as per the SPO.
“Strong voices are emerging in and outside the state that a credible enquiry should be held to fix the responsibility so that such tragedies could be avoided in future,” he said.
Tarigami said that though no amount of money could heal the wounds of the families of the victims, they should be provided jobs under SRO-43 to give them some relief.
He said if addressing the anger of younger generation is any priority for the present administration, it must give a clear-cut direction to the law enforcing agencies to desist from using “excessive force.”