HYDERABAD: In an indirect dig at the Opposition parties and the far right, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who played a crucial role in the formation of the BJP-PDP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, on Wednesday stressed the need to ‘change our mindset’ to understand the people of Kashmir.
“We cannot expect them to prove their patriotism every day and threaten to leave them. Give them confidence,” he said, adding that 68 per cent voter turnout in the recent State election was the biggest proof of their confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Madhav was invited by the J&K study centre, the centre for leadership and governance and Pragna Bharathi to speak on “The Challenges to National Security: Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal, Pakistan to China” at the Ram Reddy Centre for Distance Education in the Osmania University. The 50-year-old former RSS spokesperson first presented the NDA government’s one-year report card before moving on to the topic closer to him — BJP-PDP coalition government in J&K.
“It is an unusual alliance in J&K. It is neither political nor ideological but purely a governance alliance. We had to be in the government because of the mandate given to us,” he said and stressed, “we will never compromise on national security and integrity.”
He said Pakistan was very upset at the way J&K was prospering and pointed out that it was trying everything to destablise the State. “Things are changing and separatists do not enjoy popular support anymore,” said Madhav and referring to the media, he felt anti-national activities should be highlighted but not glamorised. According to him, the Modi government is handling Pakistan independent of the Jammu and Kashmir government for the first time. Appealing to the people not to believe in propaganda, he said, “If anything goes wrong, we will be the first to walkout of the government in J&K”.
He repeatedly stressed that neither the NDA government nor the BJP-PDP government in Jammu & Kashmir have compromised on any issue of national interest. “The country is in safe hands. We have not spared separatists in Kashmir. There is a political space that is allowed but anyone who crosses the line is behind bars today,” he pointed out.
Touching upon issues with China, Madhav said Narendra Modi, for the first time ever, has taken issues upfront with China. “We are engaging with China with a view to achieve gradual progress. Our PM talks to them freely, frankly and without hurting them,” he said.