Bhubaneswar: After Union home minister Rajnath Singh announced the Modi government would find a solution to the Kashmir problem, terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency in the Northeast by 2022, the CPI(M) on Saturday alleged the Centre was not sincere in resolving the problem in the Valley.
“The Centre has not fulfilled a single promise made before a Parliamentary Party delegation that visited Kashmir some time ago. Home minister Rajnath Singh had announced steps to resolve the problem, but failed to fulfil,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s statement, Mr Yechury said the Centre had promised to start confidence building measures among people of Kashmir and create employment opportunities for the youths. “Nothing has been done so far. Making statements will not resolve the issue,” Mr Yechury said.
In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday, Mr Modi had said bullets or abuses will not help resolve the Kashmir problem and a change can only take place by embracing all Kashmiris. “Na gaali se, na goli se, parivartan hoga gale lagaane se...Samasya suljhegi har Kashmiri ko gale lagane se,” Mr Modi had said.
Mr Yechury sought a clarification from the Centre on Income Tax returns, saying “While the Prime Minister says that 56 lakh new returns have been made after implementation of GST, the finance minister claims the number to be 91 lakh. An official statement puts the number at 31 lakh while the government’s chief economic advisor says it is five lakh,” he said.
Therefore, Mr Yechury said the Centre must clarify which figure on I-T returns is correct in order to end confusion. Similarly, he said, the suffering of the people has increased after GST, and beneficiaries are denied sugar and kerosene at affordable prices. He claimed farmers suicide rate has increased under the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and UP.
