When Extremism Is The New Normal: Kashmiri Politicians More Dangerous Than Separatists, Says Minister Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh took a jibe on the mainstream Kashmiri Politicians and cited them as being more dangerous than the separatists, The New Indian Express has reported.

This statement came out on the eve of ‘Human Rights Day’ while Singh was addressing a conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters. The minister claimed that the “so-called” mainstream politicians in Kashmir are more “dangerous”, as unlike that of the separatists, their stand is unpredictable and swings with the political expediency of the situation.

He claimed that the separatists are separatists not by conviction, but by convenience and the ‘mainstream political leaders’ too switch sides based upon the convenience.

"The Kashmir-centric political parties are quick to point an accusing finger at a security person even on the basis of unsubstantiated charges because they know, there will be no risk of retaliation, since the soldier is bound to follow a certain discipline,” he said. Pointing out the hypocrisy, he added that the same protagonists of human rights neither have the courage nor the conviction to call a terrorist so.

Furthermore, Singh described Kashmir as a fertile ground for "intellectual terrorism” which shields the network of terrorists and their crimes.

He also criticised the Congress government and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the mysterious death of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and cited it as the ‘first major human rights violation’ in the state after independence.