Follow Vajpayee's path of reconciliation, Mufti to BJP

Srinagar, Jul 11: Rather than agitating against Article 370 of the Constitution, the BJP should walk the path paved by former Prime Minister

and try finding an amicable solution to the

issue,

today said.

"If anything, the (BJP) party must launch a campaign for speeding up the process initiated by Atal Behari Vajpayee rather than agitating against Article 370 of the Constitution.

In a bid to score political points, the party seems to have forgotten its own role in trying to find an amicable solution to Kashmir problem," Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said.

He was addressing a public meeting in Pulwama town, 32 kms from here.

The former Chief Minister of the state said the threat of an agitation by BJP leader LK Advani against Article 370 amounted to a reversal of the gains made on Kashmir issue and Indo-Pak relationship since the then Prime Minister, Vajpayee, announced a ceasefire from Srinagar and extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan.

"If Advani must agitate it should be for carrying forward that process with speed and substance, rather than following the same zero sum game that has led us nowhere," Sayeed said. Sayeed said Advani's stance is an antithesis of Vajpayee's call for a solution within 'insaniyat ke dayire mein' (parameters of humanity) and his own initiative to hold direct talks with separatists, which was the first contact of its kind at that level.

PTI