Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the BJP government in 2016 tried reaching out to Hurriyat Conference leaders to dissolve contention over a plethora of issues in Jammu and Kashmir but the separatist leaders refused to entertain the delegation of senior MPs. Addressing a public rally in poll-bound J-K, Singh said during his tenure as the Home Minister, he assured the then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti that peace would prevail across the state.

In the efforts to initiate a peace process, a delegation, which included senior leaders such as Sharad Yadav from the JDU and representatives from Left parties, was sent to engage with the Hurriyat Conference, as the BJP leaders were not well received by the latter.

Singh recalled when Yadav and other Opposition MPs reached out to separatist leaders, they refused to interact with them.

"There were senior leaders like Sharad Yadav (of the JDU) and from the Left parties (in the delegation). I told them that we are from the BJP and the Hurriyat people do not like us and they get irritated on seeing us. You talk to them and tell them that we are ready to talk, but there shall be peace in Kashmir. After asking me, Sharad Yadav and some Left leaders visited the Hurriyat Conference leaders, but they shut their doors on them, saying they will not talk with senior MPs of our country," Singh said at a rally in the Ramban assembly constituency.

Singh also said he asked Mufti to quash FIRs against Kashmiri youth, who were allegedly involved in stone pelting incidents after Burhan Wani’s death. He said the government did everything to initiate a peace process but the Hurriyat leaders were reluctant.

Jammu and Kashmir is scheduled to hold Assembly Elections on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the results to be declared on October 8.

This report is auto-generated from a syndicated feed