Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Tuesday took a pot shot at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his “accession” remark, saying the northern state, like Hyderabad and Junagarh, had acceded to India and there was no doubt about their integration with the country.”Besides the issues of corruption, we also wanted to discuss the serious issue of Jammu and Kashmir in parliament. I heard the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister’s statement on accession of the state, but I would like to remind him that Kashmir like Hyderabad and Junagarh acceded to India and became its part,” Advani said at a National Democratic Alliance press conference here.

Abdullah, in his Oct 6 speech in the state assembly, had said the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India “happened in unique circumstances and the Kashmir issue was yet to be settled”.

He later reiterated that he stood by what he said in the assembly and maintained that “Pakistan was an important party in the settlement of the Kashmir dispute”.

Advani said even the separate constitution of the state as per Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which the BJP wants to be abolished, mentions that Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India.

Advani also criticised the statements made by the Kashmir interlocutors.

“Ye interlocutors kaisi kaisi bat kar rahe hain? (What are these interlocutors saying),” he asked.

Radha Kumar, one of the three Kashmir interlocutors, had reportedly suggested that the constitution could be amended to accommodate a “discussion on the azadi option for Jammu and Kashmir”. Dileep Padgaonkar, another of the team members, had said that Pakistan should be involved for a solution to be found to the Kashmir problem.