No govt crackdown on separatists, reports of sanctions wrong: Sitaram Yechury

Reports of the government curtailing funds of separatists are wrong, CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said. "Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the all party meet that reports of government deciding to crack down on separatists is absolutely wrong," Yechury told ANI.

With no meetings held with some separatists during the all party delegation's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the reported to curtail their privileges was seen as a response to the separatists' snub to the delegation.

Rajnath Singh clarified the government's stand on the same at the all-party meeting held on Wednesday in the national capital to further discuss the course of action on the Kashmir issue.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has earlier stated that the Centre's purported decision to curtail funds provided to separatist leaders is in the right direction, as all are equal before the law. "Everybody is equal in front of law, whether it is a political activist, a bureaucrat or anyone else. The Government of India must curtail their privileges like health, accommodation, foreign tours and security privileges," BJP State Secretary Er. Ghulam Ali Khatana told ANI.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) chairman Harsh Dev Singh had also extended support to the Centre's reported decision of curtailing privileges for separatists.

With ANI inputs