Hurriyat free to travel and preach: Swami

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 3. The Union Minister of State for Home, Mr. I. D. Swami, has said that the leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) are free to travel anywhere in the country.

He said that the Hurriyat leaders had the right to say what they wanted provided their utterances are not anti-national. The BJP too had the right to protest against their visit, Mr. Swami said in reply to a question about the protests organised by the State unit of the BJP against the visit while addressing a press conference here today.

He said the visit by two or three leaders of the Hurriyat to Kerala was not going to strengthen their movement. The movement was failing to get support in Kashmir itself. Their campaign about human rights violations by security forces could not be taken at its face value. They were speaking the same language as the Pakistan president, Mr. Pervez Musharraf. The killing of the poor and the innocent could not be termed `Jihad'.

The Government wanted to continue the peace initiatives between India and Pakistan even if the expected response was not there from Pakistan. It was trying to improve the infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, redress the complaints of the people and fight the militants, he said.

The minister said there was absolutely no difference of opinion between the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, and the Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, over Kashmir. ``They may have differences over certain issues but they were united on matters of national interest. There used to be similar talk about differences between Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel in the past,'' he recalled.

Asked about the activities of the National Development Front in the State, the Minister said the Centre was keeping a watch on its activities. However, the matter was a State subject. If the organisation needed to be banned in the State, it was up to the Government to do so. Or, it could approach the Centre.

He said that five or six States had sought a ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The Government was examining the request. However, an organisation could be banned only if the ban would stand scrutiny by a judicial tribunal.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was not for building the temple at Ayodhya. The matter could either be amicably settled or decided through a court order. It would be welcome if the Muslim leaders came forward for an amicable settlement, he said.

On the meeting of the RSS and Christian leaders, the Minister said the issue was not whether the RSS represented the majority of Hindus. It would serve a purpose if the issue of conversions could be sorted out between the leaders.

Asked about the alleged saffronisation of education, Mr. Swami said a debate on the matter was good. All could express their opinions. The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, had clarified that he was willing to withdraw the measures if anything he had done was against the provisions of the Constitution.

PTI adds: The Minister said the attempts of extremists to Talibanise Kashmir would not succeed. Condemning the burqa (veil for women) drive in Kashmir by the militant outfit, `Lashkar-e- Jabbar', Mr. Swami asked the State Government to take stern action against the persons responsible for it.

``The Centre would support any action taken by the State Government in this regard and the persons who perpetuate this act should be put behind bars,' Mr. Swami said. The people of the State also should come out openly and resist such social evils, he said.

To a query on the reported remarks of Mr. Advani, on general amnesty to security force personnel, he said it was a general statement made in a specific context. The Home Minister was speaking at a function in Jallandhar and he might have received representations from families of security forces in the matter. However, ``each case has to be decided on its merit,'' he added.

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