SRINAGAR: A Sikh organization today said the situation in Kashmir was very tricky and the Centre should initiate a dialogue process with the stakeholders, while asserting that brute action against protesters would only alienate the youth from the mainstream.
The situation in Kashmir Valley is very tricky and we expect the central government to initiate a dialogue process with the concerned stakeholders so that the situation becomes normal.
Taking brute action against the protesters would not lead to any result and in fact would alienate the people especially youth from the mainstream, All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina told reporters here.
Referring to the upcoming bypolls to the two Lok Sabha seats of Srinagar and Anantnag in the Valley, Raina said the community members were free to vote or stay away from the polls and APSCC would not force them to change their decision.
Unlike the past, the APSCC does not want the members of the Sikh community to vote for a particular party or candidate during the bypolls.
Sikhs are free to vote for anybody and in case they deem it fit not to vote, the APSCC would not force them to change their decision, he said.
The APSCC chairman lashed out at the ruling PDP for not taking any steps in granting minority status to the community in Jammu and Kashmir and demanded that the National Commission for Minorities Act be extended to the state.
The PDP had in its election manifesto promised to grant minority status to the Sikh community of the state, but three years have passed and nothing has been done.
The state government opposed the granting of the minority status to Sikhs in the Supreme Court very recently.
This action of the people suggests that the people at the helm pursue different agenda while being in power or out of power, he said.
Raina threatened an agitation by the members of the community for their due rights.
Denial of due rights has already led to devastation in Haryana and the same cannot be ruled out in Jammu and Kashmir.
With appreciable number of Sikhs living in Jammu region, one cannot rule out an agitation by the members of the Sikh community.
The state government would be responsible for the consequences, he said.–PTI
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