India Has Lost Kashmir Valley Emotionally, Says Yashwant Sinha

New Delhi—Having assailed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the “mess” in the economy, BJP veteran leader Yashwant Sinha attacked the government on the Kashmir imbroglio, insisting “India has lost people of the Valley emotionally”

In an interview to the news portal ‘The Wire’, the former Union minister answered questions from journalist Karan Thapar on him being criticised for an article he wrote in a leading English daily on the range of issues like Kashmir and state of economy that left the BJP embarrassed.

“I am looking at the alienation of the masses of people in Jammu and Kashmir. That is something which bothers me the most? We have lost the people emotionally? You just have to visit the Valley to realise that they have lost faith in us,” Sinha said

Sinha leads a civil society organisation–Concerned Citizens Group (CCG)– which has visited the troubled Valley several times and interacted with various stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a lasting solution to the seven-decades-old problem.

The group comprises eminent people from different walks of life like Justice (retd) A P Shah, former Mumbai police commissioner J F Ribeira, Wajahat Habibullah, A S Dulat, Aruna Roy and Ramchandra Guha

Sinha claimed he has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue 10 months ago and was “hurt” as it did not materialise.

“I am hurt. I am absolutely hurt. That you ask for time, ten months has gone by? Let me tell you, ever since I have been in public life, no prime minister of India, starting with Rajiv Gandhi, has ever said no to a meeting I have sought? no prime minister has said to Yashwant Sinha,? I don?t have time for you.?

“And this is my own prime minister who has treated me like this. So if somebody rings me and says please come talk to me? Sorry, the time has passed? I have been treated shabbily,” he said.

Meanwhile at a “Manthan Samvaad” in Hyderabad, Sinha delivered a talk on “Kashmir: Now, and Way Forward”.
Veteran BJP leader said that it is entirely our (politicians/government) fault that people of Kashmir alienated in successive years post Indian Independence and accession of the state of J&K in it.

Referring to BJP-PDP coalition government in the state, Yashwant Sinha said while both the parties agreed on a common agenda of governance and agreed on the need of dialogue with each stockholder of Jammu & Kashmir to resolve the problem it has hit a roadblock.

“I have an opportunity of serving the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and the agenda announced by the current BJP-PDP aggress to follow the same path shown by former prime minister. Same path should be followed.”

“J&K issue has been the longest unfortunate problem or issue and it is with us since our independence. We should also remember that J&K is the only Muslim state that rejected Pakistan and idea of Pakistan and joined India, and it is unfortunate that over last the 70 years successively by each government the people of state were let down. And, now they have a strong feeling of betrayal and discrimination and now they tell you that we have always been in denial on their misery,” said Sinha.

Sinha recalled his visit to Kashmir soon after the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, which triggered a large scale uprising in the Valley, saying, “I along with few concerned citizen went to the Valley post his killing and we wanted to tell Kashmiris that the people of India really care. We met large number of people and a youth told me that they can’t forget how Government of India and state government have made a tremendous contribution in their psyche and now youth of Kashmir has lost fear of death.” Sinha said that Jammu & Kashmir issue is more political in nature than a law & order or security issue and a dialogue is the only way forward.

State Of Economy

Sinha in his interview to The Wire, also took on Jaitley for suggesting that his shifting from the finance to external affairs ministry when Vajpayee was the prime minister was a “demotion”

“How can [Jaitley] say that shifting from the ministry of finance to external affairs was a demotion for me? ? If Mr

Jaitley with the same stroke wants to say that Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister of today, is handling a totally insignificant portfolio, nobody is going to believe it.”

He debunked claims by several BJP leaders and ministers, including his own son Jayant, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, that the government has made massive structural changes which will help the economy in the long run

Sinha claimed Mudra scheme set up to provide funding to non-corporate, non-farm sector income generating activities of micro and small enterprises, was another name for the Pradhan Mantri Swarozgar Yojana launched by the Vajpayee government

He said the average loan in these accounts was a meagre Rs 11,000

“And you tell me, in today?s day and age, what kind of business can be set up with Rs 25,000 rupees, Rs 50,000. The party president said that all these 80 million people today are self-employed which means we have created 80 million job opportunities. This is absolutely untenable,” he said.

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