BJP TODAY

May 1--15, 2003 - Vol. 12, No. 09

BJP heartily congratulates Atalji on his fruitful Kashmir visit
Venkaiah Naidu expresses hope of positive Pak response
Text of Statement

The Bharatiya Janata Party heartily congratulates Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his highly fruitful two-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir. The visit will hasten the process of return of peace and normalcy to the State, further consolidating the positive development inaugurated by the historic Assembly elections in October last.

Despite a hartal call given by the Hurriyat Conference, an enthusiastic gathering of Kashmiris came to hear Shri Vajpayee's reassuring message at a huge public rally in Srinagar, the first to be addressed by an Indian Prime Minister after a gap of 16 years. This shows that the situation in Kashmir Valley is definitely changing for the better. Ordinary people, who were long fed up with terror and violence unleashed from across the border, have begun to visibly assert themselves, leading to rapid isolation of Pak-supported militant elements. The BJP fully endorses the Prime Minister's affirmation that all problems can be resolved peacefully on the basis of three lofty principles: Insaniyat (humanism), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmir's age-old culture of Hindu-Muslim unity).

The BJP hopes that Pakistan responds positively to the Prime Minister's bold gesture of extending a hand of friendship, paving the way for meaningful talks between our two countries to begin soon. As the Prime Minister has rightly emphasized, the sincerity of Pakistan's response depends upon its desire to end its policy of cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir.