Headlines
Normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir after Masrat Alam's release
Though the ruckus that followed
the controversial release of separatist leader Masrat Alam continued to
ruffle feathers in the national capital on Monday, normalcy prevailed in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Life remained normal in the state despite a
two-day shutdown call given by the Panthers Party in Jammu against the
release of Masrat Alam at state Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed's
orders.
Shops, other business establishments, government offices,
banks, post offices and public transport operated normally in Jammu
city and other parts of the Jammu region and across Kashmir.
The
shutdown call had little effect on life in Jammu, where BJP leaders,
including the ministers in the ruling coalition, refused to speak to the
media on the controversy created by the separatist leader's release.
However,
state BJP president and parliamentarian Jugul Kishore said: "We were
not asked before releasing Masrat Alam. If they had asked us, we would
not have given approval from our side on this and even today our consent
is not with this decision."
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi
told parliament that he was equally concerned over the development since
the issue was related to the country's security, the respective
leaderships of the BJP and PDP in the state maintained silence over the
issue.
Modi's assertion that he had not been consulted before
releasing the separatist leader has put a question mark on the PDP
statement that the BJP was on board regarding the separatist release.
Masrat
Alam told reporters in Srinagar: "Mufti Sayeed should not try to take
political mileage out of it. I was released through a normal legal
procedure since my Public safety Act (PSA) detention was about to end in
the next two to three days."
He also said that his release should not be turned into a political issue.
"What
difference does it make if one person is released when there are
thousands languishing in jails," he said while denying that he had been
responsible for the killings of youths during the 2010 unrest in the
Valley.
"It was Omar Abdullah and not me who is responsible for those killings," Alam said.