Thaindian News

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday passed a resolution against the Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors’ report, saying that it was against Kashmir’s integration with India.

The resolution, which was not part of the agenda of the BJP’s national executive meet here, was taken up after the report became public Thursday.

The report has recommended the setting up of a constitutional committee to review all central laws extended to the state and making permanent article 370 of the constitution that grants the state special status.

“There was a sense that we have been totally let down by the report. The BJP rejects the report,” party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The resolution was moved by senior party leader Arun Jaitley.

“Within 36 hours of the (parliament) session’s conclusion, the report is brought in public domain. It should have been presented in the parliament,” Sitharaman said.

“The report is in total denial of certain harsh realities,” she said.

“It fails to acknowledge that article 370 is a psychological barrier in the integration of Kashmir with the rest of India. Rather than abolishing it, the report asks to make the status permanent,” she said.

She said the report did not point out that Kashmir was an integral part of India and instead used the term “Pakistan-administered Kashmir” for “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir”.

“It weakens India’s position as per the resolution passed by parliament in 1994. It is really worrying,” she said.

The 1994 resolution had said that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.

She said the report ignored the rehabilitation of Sikhs and Hindus who had to flee the Kashmir valley. “All it offered to them is that they can come and visit the valley when there is peace,” she said.

She also called the suggestion to review all legislations after 1952 as disastrous.