With Kashmir Valley in agony, people have lost faith in Modi Govt.: Congress

Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh), July 24 (ANI): Asserting that the Centre needs to re-establish faith and trust with the people of the Kashmir Valley, the Congress Party today set three issues before the government that needs to be fixed with utmost priority to find a solution to the tense situation in the state. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said it is the Centre's direct responsibility to fix the situation as they are also part of the state government in Jammu and Kashmir. "We have raised three issues. First is the usage of pellet guns on civilians. Those weapons are not used in any civilised society across the globe. So many people have been injured in the Valley and even more have lost their eyesight. We have demanded a complete ban on them," Azad told ANI. "The second issue is compensation for the kin of the dead and also for the injured people. Confidence building is important right now as the faith of the people in the government has been shattered," he added. Talking about the third point of concern, the Congress leader stated the Centre needs to tackle the problem of unemployment, which at time is the root of many problems in the valley. When asked about the Congress' move to boycott the all-party meet convened by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in wake of the unrest in the Kashmir Valley, Azad said, "Six out of 10 districts are still under curfew. In such a situation, the Prime Minister or the Home Minister should have convened a meeting in Delhi where a proper discussion would have been held with the all leaders." Asserting that Kashmir is in agony and mourning with around 50 people dead and over 3,000 others injured, the Congress leader said this is the first time since independence that a state has faced curfew for this long span of time. Meanwhile, Rajnath, who is on a two-day visit in the Valley, met top PDP, National Conference and BJP leaders. He also interacted with the civil society members in an effort to find a way to the latest round of violence in Kashmir. Rajnath landed in Srinagar at around noon on Saturday, accompanied by a team of senior Home Ministry officials and the DGs of central paramilitary forces. He met Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti late on Saturday. Life continued to move at a sluggish pace as curfew and restrictions remained in force across several parts of Kashmir for the 16th consecutive day in view of continuous shutdown call by the separatists and prevailing law and order situation. Besides curfew in other districts in valley, the restrictions under Section 144 have been lifted in four districts of Baramulla, Bandipora, Budgam and Ganderbal. (ANI)