Yechury dubs Centre's Kashmir policy as 'total failure'

Yechury asked if the ruling BJP's 'lip service' about forces is reserved only for poll speeches.

New Delhi, Feb 15: The CPI-M on Wednesday questioned Centre's alleged silence over killings of army personnel in Kashmir over the past three days.

"This reconfirms the total failure of Centre's policy in Kashmir. An absolute lack of acknowledgement or meaningful political action by this government is shocking," CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

He also expressed shock at the 'absolute lack' of meaningful political action by Centre over killing of soldiers and wondered if the ruling BJP's 'lip service' about forces is reserved only for poll speeches.

"...why is Modi and his government silent about these deaths? Are lip service and sermons about armed forces reserved only for election speeches?" Yechury asked in a Facebook post, apparently referring to the BJP hailing army's surgical strike across the Line of Control in September last in its poll campaigns.

Condoling the deaths of the army men, Yechury sought to know how many deaths will it take to stir the government from its current alleged callousness towards sacrifices of the armed forces.

Four army men, including a Major, and an equal number of militants were killed while eight other security personnel and a civilian were injured in two separate encounters in Kashmir onj Tuesday. The encounters took place after four militants and two soldiers were killed in a gun battle in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Sunday. Two civilians were also killed in that encounter.

PTI