Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses a party function in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (PTI photo)
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was following the path of "humanity" shown by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Jammu and Kashmir, citing the example of the Budgam firing incident in which nine soldiers were indicted by the Army for killing two teenagers.
"Since the Modi government came to power, it has been our policy that if injustice has been done, the matter will be investigated and (if found true), it will be set right," the Mr Jaitley said during an interaction with civil society organised by the BJP in Srinagar.
Mr Jaitley said while some people, including the opponents of the BJP, were raking up Mr Vajpayee's statement that issues of Jammu and Kashmir will be resolved within the ambit of 'insaniyat' (humanity), the present government at the Centre was following it.
"In early months, I was also the Defence Minister. The (Chattergam) incident which resulted in the death of two youth and injuries to two others(happened). As soon as we came to know, I got a message from Prime Minister Modi asking me to investigate the incident and find the truth," said Mr Jaitley.
"I investigated the incident from both sides. Within two hours, I sent out a message in Twitter as the Defence Minister, condemning the incident and apologising for it. This has happened perhaps for the first time in the history of India," he added.
The Finance Minister said that he directed the Army to probe the matter in an honest manner.
"Next day, we told the army to send officials to the families of the deceased youth and investigate the matter with honesty. Perhaps for the first time, the Army has found its personnel guilty in such a short time," he added.
Mr Jaitley said that the change in thinking came after his interaction with a college girl in 2010 when he was part of the All Party Delegation that visited Kashmir at the peak of summer agitation that year.
"She told us that she is a citizen of the country and does not support the separatists. But she also said that she did not want to see policemen outside her house or being asked to show identity cards several times en route college," he said.
Mr Jaitley said 'insaniyat' envisages a civilised society.
"India is the biggest democracy in the world where everyone enjoys equal rights. If anyone violates these rights, there will be action against the violator," he said.