Bhushan clarifies on his army in J&K remark, BJP, Cong slam him

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 06: Lawyer-turned activist and AAP leader Prashant Bhushan came under fire over his comments on Kashmir with both the BJP and Congress strongly opposing his comments on what they called is a sensitive national subject. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley hit out at Bhushan for supporting a referendum using army for internal security in Kashmir and said the idea is ill-advised. While Bhushan blamed the media for twisting his comments, AAP leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal distanced themselves from his remarks.

 

Outrightly rejecting the view, Jaitley said. "The issues of national security cannot be decided by populism or referendum. They can only be decided on security considerations. Till such time the infrastructure of terror remains the presence of the army in Jammu & Kashmir is essential."

The Congress party, which is extending outside support to the AAP government in Delhi, also challenged the views expressed by the AAP leader and said that the party needs to act responsibly. "AAP should realise that they are no more an NGO or an activist. They are a political party. So whenever making a comment on matter of national importance, they need to think, ponder on what you say," said Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha.

As the heat turned on Bhushan, the AAP leader found even his party distancing itself from him over the issue. "Our view is that it is not an issue of debate and Kashmir is a part of India," said AAP leader Kumar Vishwas in a hurriedly called press conference on the matter.

AAP member Dilip Pandey, who was also present in the press conference, claimed that Bhushan’s comment was being misinterpreted. "Prashant Bhushan ji had said something else, his comments were distorted. AAP believes that Kashmir is India’s integral part, Bhushan ji agrees on it as well," he said.

Meanwhile, Bhushan alleged that his comments on Kashmir were twisted by the media. "Headlines Today and Aaj Tak has sensationalised my statement. It is a prerogative of the state to deploy armed forces for the security of the state," he said.

Bhushan had said a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the army to deal with internal security threats in the Valley. He said if the AAP forms a government at the Centre they will hold a referendum on deciding whether the army should remain deployed in Kashmir.

He had also spoken in favour of lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in J&K, saying it gave the army immunity in cases of human rights violation while causing alienation among the people.

"It is very important for us to win the hearts and minds of the people and prevent alienation. For that, the first thing which needs to be done is to remove AFSPA, which gives the army immunity in (cases of) human rights violations," Bhushan had told a TV channel. The army’s deployment for internal security purposes should be effected only with the consent of the people, except in cases where the rights of minorities need to be protected, he had said.

In 2011, Bhushan had triggered a controversy by supporting the idea of holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.