SRINAGAR: In an usual move, Jammu and Kashmir Congress has slammed the remarks of party’s senior leader and MP Shashi Tharoor that “there was encouraging progress towards normalcy” after his meeting with Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar yesterday.
In the post on X, Tharoor said, “In Srinagar! Had the honour of an excellent meeting with Lieutenant-Governor Shri @manojsinha_ at Lok Bhavan today”.
“We discussed the situation in the state and the encouraging progress towards normalcy. When I arrived he was chatting to the President of the Kashmiri Writers’ Association and the Women’s Organisation — a positive outreach that I welcomed. Many challenges remain and much remains to be done, but I left the meeting feeling more positives than I have felt for a while,” he further said.
Surprisingly, the office of LG did not issue any official statement about the meeting.
J&K Congress spokesman Ravindra Sharma took to X to hit back at Tharoor over his remarks.
“People of Kashmir too were expecting you to meet them to have a better understanding of the ground realities. Atleast could've spared sometime to meet own partymen fighting for statehood snatched from us 7 years ago (sic),” Sharma said.
Youth leader and J&K Students Association national convenor Nasir Khuehami also slammed Congress MP saying it is deeply disappointing that a parliamentarian of Tharoor’s stature chose not to engage in any meaningful dialogue with the people whose voices have been consistently sidelined. “Kashmir deserves more than symbolic visits and carefully curated interactions”.
According to Khuehami, “India today is grappling with serious challenges; paper leaks, recruitment scams, examination fraud, rising unemployment, shrinking democratic spaces, and institutional erosion. Kashmir has, unfortunately, become a laboratory where many of these injustices have been experienced in their most acute form. Thousands of young people have seen their aspirations shattered by recruitment irregularities, scams and prolonged delays in public examinations, and the absence of meaningful political and democratic engagement.”
“Many Kashmiris genuinely hoped that your visit would provide an opportunity to listen to these concerns firsthand. We expected you to meet students, unemployed youth, civil society representatives, opposition leaders, and other stakeholders who continue to struggle with the realities on the ground. Instead, your interactions appeared selective, avoiding those who could have presented a more nuanced and uncomfortable picture of Kashmir,” he said.
The student leader said constructive dialogue cannot be confined to conversations that merely reinforce government narrative. “A responsible public representative must also engage with dissenting voices and those who have been denied a platform. Ignoring these perspectives does not make the problems disappear; it merely distances policymaking from reality.”
He reminded Tharoor that as a MP, “your responsibility extends beyond diplomatic messaging. Parliament is meant to be the voice of the unheard, the marginalized, the oppressed, and those denied justice. But meaningful advocacy begins with listening”. “Without engaging with people on the ground, the realities they live through inevitably remain invisible in the national discourse.”
“Your remarks about "normalcy and All is well" have left many Kashmiris like me wondering; whose normalcy are we speaking of? Can there be normalcy when democratic institutions remain weakened, political representation remains constrained, youth continue to battle unemployment and recruitment scams, and meaningful political dialogue remains absent? Normalcy cannot simply be measured by tourist arrivals or official narratives while fundamental political and constitutional questions remain unresolved,” he added.
“Kashmir does not need optics or carefully choreographed narratives. It needs empathy, engagement, honest dialogue, constitutional safeguards, democratic restoration, political representation, and sustained efforts towards reconciliation and healing!,” added Khueham