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| Geelani gives veiled signal to meet APD | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Sept 2: Though maintaining the old rhetoric of saying no to meeting the All-Party Delegation (APD) coming to Kashmir on September 4, the 86-year-old Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Geelani has subtly said 'yes' to holding talks with the emissaries of New Delhi being sent to Srinagar.
"We in principle were never against the talks as we believe that even after deadly conflicts and destructive wars, things are settled through the dialogue only," Geelani said in a statement on September 1.
Though he kept many conditions for holding of talks, his hint of meeting the delegates was oblique.
However, the contrary side of this story was witnessed when he asked others not to meet any delegate coming from New Delhi. "We suggest to all stakeholders to refrain from engaging in this meaningless exercise of meeting this delegation," was the diktat that Geelani issued on Friday.
Meanwhile, if sources are to be believed, Geelani has been expressing his desire to hold talks with the government behind the closed doors if not in open.
Pertinent to mention that in 2010, Geelani was first among the separatists to meet the APD at his Hyderpora residence.
However, this year, Geelani's two contradictory statements have added confusion on ground with some suggesting that the aged separatist wants to meet the delegations away from the public gaze.
26 MPs from the Opposition, including Saugata Roy from Trinamool Congress, D Raja from CPI, Dilip Kumar Tirkey from BJD and Sharad Yadav from JD(U) will be part of the delegation, besides those from the ruling BJP and the government.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has already spoken to leaders of Opposition parties, inviting them to be part of the delegation. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar will meet the leaders soon to work out details of the visit.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh, who arrived in Kashmir Thursday, is expected to meet several political leaders and members of civil society for feedback from the ground.
National Panthers Party chairman Bhim Singh has already said that a committee should be constituted under the chairmanship of Karan Singh and with Hurriyat Conference leaders as members.
Meanwhile, there are several other separatist leaders in Kashmir who have preferred to remain tight lipped over whether to meet the All Party Delegation or not.
If reports are to be believed, the delegates this time, unlike 2010, would prefer to meet the separatists, traders and others behind the curtain mainly and only with few specific persons would meet the delegates before the press.
So far several trade bodies have in open stated that they would not meet the delegation. However, they are likely to hold secret talks with the delegates in a bid to make their meetings more fructifying and result oriented. |
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