Interlocutor talk causes discomfort to Centre

As the Centre-appointed interlocutors wound up their tour of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Thursday, the government was in a visible state of discomfort.

In the six days of their stay in J&K, the three interlocutors, desperately looking for a window of opportunity to start a dialogue with separatists and stone-pelting youth, issued several “out of turn” statements.

After leader of the bunch Dileep Padgaonkar said Pakistan was party to the Kashmir dispute, Radha Kumar spoke of amending the constitution to accommodate a solution to the problem.

Home ministry mandarins put on a brave face on most occasions, but opposition parties, particularly BJP, are livid.

The party has sought an explanation from the prime minister on the terms of reference of the interlocutors. “Do they have a brief or terms of reference? The interlocutors have converted home minister P Chidambaram’s quiet dialogue into sound-bite unilateralism,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Although tight-lipped about the terms of reference of the three-member team, home ministry circles sarcastically remarked that their brief was to ensure a “sustained dialogue”. But whether it includes extreme suggestions such as discussing ‘azaadi’, they wouldn’t respond.

In what could be perceived as a feeble attempt to defend the interlocutors’ tendency to shoot off their mouths, ministry sources said their utterances could be out of the need to establish credibility with Kashmiri separatists and masses to take forward dialogue on future visits.

The BJP leadership, on the other hand, seems to be upping the ante and rubbished Radha Kumar’s reported suggestion to amend the constitution. “The constitution of India can never be allowed to become a charter of incorporating the sentiments of azaadi,” Sitharaman  said.