Jammu: Attacking the BJP over its support to the makers of “The Kashmir Files”, the J&K Congress on Thursday said the ruling party has failed to take any major initiative for return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits despite being in power for over seven years.
The recently-released film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s.
“The BJP-led government at the Centre cannot absolve itself of the sin of sufferings and killings of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community. Unfortunately, the present government is in office for over seven years but has failed to take any major initiative for their return and rehabilitation,” J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
He said all schemes and packages for the community were given by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government and these are being carried forward by the present dispensation at a very “slow pace”.
“There is nothing new for them (displaced Pandits) except crocodile tears for gaining sympathy of crores of countrymen with an eye on votes,” Sharma said.
He said the BJP-led government also cannot escape the responsibility of the continued violence and targeted killings of “minority community members and pro-India forces” in Kashmir.
“The government needs to take firm result-oriented steps for the return of Kashmiri Pandits and their rehabilitation and settlement in an atmosphere of security and harmony by bridging the gaps rather than further vitiating the atmosphere by promoting hatred and division,” Sharma said.
He said Jammu and Congress unit of the Congress considers that “it is time to heal old painful wounds instead of bleeding them, and isolate fundamentalist and radical forces to defeat the Pakistani designs on Kashmir”.
“There is no denial that what happened in 1990 with the Kashmiri Pandits is very shocking, painful and a blot. It was a crime against humanity,” Sharma said.
The Congress leader said nothing can heal their wounds and no amount of money can compensate them, which is understood by everyone especially those who underwent the much worst destruction and deaths in the “holocaust of 1947”.
“Being a displaced person from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir myself, I too realise the pain and sufferings of displaced people but the world has moved further and we have to bring the upcoming generations out of the trauma and shock in order to prepare them to face the new challenges,” he said.
Sharma said knowing history is alright but learning lessons from history is rather more important.
“The nefarious designs and conspiracy of Pakistan and radicals has not succeeded so far and it has to be fully defeated at all costs by bridging the gap and rebuilding the broken relationships,” he said.
Sharma said the fact is that thousands of other Hindus, Sikhs and a large number of Muslims also became victims of this senseless and endless violence and even at present, are becoming targets of selective killings.
