"No Great Expectations": West Bengal Congress Chief On PM's J&K Outreach

Senior Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury on Friday said he would "rather wait and watch than be immediately optimistic about any overnight change" in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with 14 political leaders of the Valley.

Mr Chowdhury, while interacting with reporters at his residence, also said the BJP-led central government, after the revocation of Article 370, had made many promises, but nothing came of it.

"I have no faith in the BJP government. I don't have any great expectation from it. Two years ago, they had promised that any Indian citizen can reside in the union territory. Did that happen? Brahmins (Kashmiri pandits), till date, are scared to return to the Valley. Also, terrorist activities continue unabated," the senior Congress leader said.

He recalled that the Modi-Shah regime had "vowed to capture the PoK region two years ago, but that turned out to be an empty promise".

The Bengal Congress chief further pointed out that many of the leaders who were invited to Thursday's meeting were placed under house arrest after the abrogation of Article 370, and some were also equated with secessionist elements. "...so now they are bringing out leaders from jails and allowing them to participate in talks. None has forgotten the fact that leaders of this party (BJP), in the recent past, equated some of them with secessionist elements, calling them member of certain gangs," he said.

In the Centre's first outreach to Jammu and Kashmir's political leadership in almost two years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a crucial meeting with 14 leaders, including four former chief ministers, to chalk out the future course of action in the union territory.