Ram Madhav said politicians are used to such detentions. Preventive detention is a usual practice. This (detention of Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah) is to ensure peace, calm and tranquility.
Restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), including the detention of former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, is nothing new, said senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Madhav. He said these restrictions are not new to the Kashmir Valley as similar restrictions were imposed in the past, not just by the NDA government, but by other governments as well.
Ram Madhav was speaking to India Today TV for an exclusive interview.
Asked why former J&K chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have been detained, Ram Madhav said their detention is a “preventive measure”.
“This is to ensure there is no untoward political fallout. Many political leaders have faced arrests and been detained. Politicians are used to such detentions. Preventive detention is an usual practice. This (detention of Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah) is to ensure peace, calm and tranquility,” Ram Madhav said.
“Kashmir is part of India. If the leaders in Kashmir carry the national flag, they are not doing any charity. It is their national duty. This (carrying national flag) cannot be held up as a special act of charity on their part,” Ram Madhav said.
Ram Madhav said this a day after the Rajya Sabha passed a bill that revokes the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. The bill also bifurcated the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Union territories–Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked about the apprehensions that the decision may worsen the law and order situation in Kashmir, Ram Madhav said: “Doomsday predictors are leaders for who Article 370 used to be bread and butter issue. If right message goes out, people will realise the decision (taken by the Modi government) will only benefit them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking about the ground situation in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, Ram Madhav said there are “celebrations” in Jammu and Ladakh, while the Kashmir Valley has been “very silent”.
Ram Madhav said the decision on Article 370 was taken solely by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. “Credit for this goes only to them. The decision was taken with great courage and determination,” Ram Madhav said.
ALSO READ | Article 370: Congress divided over abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir
ALSO READ | How Kashmir changed on August 5
ALSO READ | From Partition to history in a stroke, how Indian newspapers covered Centre’s move on Article 370
WATCH | Full interview of Ram Madhav on J&K and Article 370
Leave a Reply