BJP finds Obama's Kashmir statement 'dangerous'

JAMMU: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday described as 'dangerous' US president-elect Barack Obama's statement about sending a special envoy to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

"Obama's statements on Kashmir, especially about sending a special envoy to Kashmir, is a dangerous thing," Chaman Lal Gupta, a former minister of state for defense and BJP's most senior leader in the state, told a press conference here.

Flanked by state party unit president Ashok Khajuria and former state unit chief Nirmal Singh, Gupta said any such move would amount to a direct intervention in India's internal affairs.

"Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and this statement by Barack Obama is fraught with serious consequences," he said.

He blamed the Congress party's "weak foreign policy and soft stance on terrorism" for such statements.

But Jammu and Kashmir's separatist and even mainstream leaders have hailed Obama's statement on Kashmir and hoped that it would lead to an early resolution of the Kashmir crisis.

Gupta also chided Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for accepting a copy of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) document on the self-rule proposal for the state.

PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed handed over a copy of the document to Manmohan Singh Wednesday evening.

The PDP proposal seeks more powers for Jammu and Kashmir and shared sovereignty of India and Pakistan on the two parts of the state divided between the two countries.