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Centre seeks fresh report on Alam's release: Rajnath
Home Minister Rajnath Singh
said here on Monday the Centre has asked for a fresh report from the
Jammu and Kashmir government as its clarification on the release of
separatist leader Masrat Alam was unsatisfactory.
"Many leaders
have expressed concern over the release of Alam. As soon as we got
information in the matter, we asked for a report from the Jammu and
Kashmir home department," said Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha and the
Rajya Sabha.
He also said that the central government was not satisfied with the report and has sought further clarifications on this.
"As
far as public safety and national security is concerned, our government
will not compromise at all. Will not allow anyone to play with the
safety and security of the nation."
The minister's statement came as members from both houses of parliament expressed concern over Alam's release.
Alam,
arrested during the 2010 unrest in Kashmir Valley for allegedly
inciting youth to pelt stones at security and police forces, was
released by the newly-installed PDP-BJP coalition government on
Saturday.
In the Rajya Sabha, as opposition members accused the
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) of having a "hidden agenda" in Jammu and
Kashmir, the home minister said: "We have no hidden agenda. Our agenda
is in the open."
While giving clarifications on his statement,
the home minister agreed that there were ideological differences between
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
"Despite
ideological differences, this government was formed in Jammu and
Kashmir, because the mandate was fractured. If not us, you could have
formed the government... The garden that you destroyed, we are trying to
make it bloom again," the home minister said, targeting the Congress.
The home minister said he was speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I
am happy the whole house is concerned. If I can understand their
feeling, the whole house agrees Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of
India, and will always be...," he said.
"...I want to assure the
house, and I am speaking on behalf of the prime minister, we will not
allow anyone to disintegrate the nation, howsoever big the power may
be," he added.
Rajnath Singh also said that Modi has so far not
had any talks with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed on any topic of significance.
"The prime minister has not
had any talks with Mufti sahab on major issues. He met the PM but it was
just a courtesy call," he said.
The home minister informed the
house that the Jammu and Kashmir government has said that Masrat Alam
had 27 criminal cases against him since 1995.
"They have informed
that the high court has granted him bail in all 27 cases as he could be
detained for only two years on the same grounds," Rajnath Singh said.
The
home minister, however, said that the central government was not
satisfied with this report. "We have further sought clarifications on
this."
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday the central government was
not satisfied with the clarifications of the Jammu and Kashmir
government on the release of separatist leader Masrat Alam and has
sought a fresh report from it.
"Many leaders have expressed
concern over the release of Alam. As soon as we got information in the
matter, we asked for a report from the Jammu and Kashmir home
department," Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha.
"Public safety and security will not be compromised in this country," he added.
The
home minister informed the house that the Jammu and Kashmir government
has said that Masrat Alam had 27 criminal cases against him since 1995.
"They
have informed that the high court has granted him bail on all 27 cases
as he could be detained for only two years on the same grounds," Rajnath
Singh said.
The home minister, however, said that the central
government was not satisfied with this report. "We have further sought
clarifications on this."