J and K situation worrisome: Advani

Raipur, Aug 26 (UNI) Describing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as ''worrisome,'' Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani today said it refreshed the memories of pre-1953 days.

''The situation is reminiscent of the times when a permit was needed for a visit there,'' he said here while addressing a state-level convention of beneficiaries of the Chhattisgarh government's Nava Anjor poverty alleviation scheme.

On one hand, people under the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti banner are conducting an agitation holding tricolours in Jammu, on the other hand most of those under the banner of Hurriyat were carrying Pakistan's national flag during agitations in the Valley, Mr Advani said.

''Jan Sangh leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee had protested against Kashmir being accorded a special status and his logic is being proved six decades later. He had said people from any part of the country should be free to reside in any other part. If his words were heeded then the situation might have been different now,'' Mr Advani said.

Claiming that the Amarnath dispute seemed to have gone far beyond the shrine itself, he said nationalism was pitted against separatism.

''Those indulging in so-called secular politics should comprehend that the country's unity and integrity are supreme. The manner in which terrorism and separatism were boosted in the roughly four years of United Progressive Alliance rule makes it appear as if nobody is secure in the country. Incidents took place during National Democratic Alliance tenure also but militants were caught,'' he said.

Lauding neighbouring Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said he was overwhelmed by the success of Gujarat Police in arresting those responsible for the incidents in Gujarat, Mumbai, Bangalore and Jaipur.

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