By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government has admitted that there could be differences between the two coalition partners PDP and BJP vis-à-vis Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) but there was no ‘tussle’ as such.
Naeem Akhtar, the Education Minister, termed the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) revocation a ‘prolonged fight’, saying the present government would take all parties in confidence for making unanimous efforts in scraping the law.
“The ongoing fight for the revocation of AFSPA is a ‘prolonged’ one. The PDP is committed on its stand that AFSPA must go. Our government will not follow the suits of Omar Abdullah by declaring that tomorrow the law would be scraped in the Assembly. It is an issue and we will resolve it by taking on board all the parties so that a broader consensus could be built,” Akhtar told a news agency on Tuesday.
He said, “In a democratic set up such laws are not needed. As AFSPA continues amid democratic set up, the notion goes out that Jammu and Kashmir is being ruled by the armed forces which is not true.”
“India is a democratic country and we feel proud in being the citizens of one of its State,” he said adding, “There could be difference of opinions but there is no tussle between the BJP and PDP as such.”
(With inputs from KNS)