The Hindu : PDP gears up for PM's Kashmir visit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

National

National

PDP gears up for PM's Kashmir visit

By Shujaat Bukhari

A police barricade erected on the Residency Road, Srinagar, ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

SRINAGAR APRIL 16. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir beginning on Friday, is significant in many ways. It has expanded the canvas of hopes for the ruling People's Democratic Party but the masses may have little to cheer.

Unlike on previous occasions, Mr. Vajpayee's itinerary this time will be hectic. He will be the first Prime Minister in the last 15 years to address a public meeting in Srinagar.

After laying the foundation for the new terminal of Srinagar Airport, which could pave the way for making it an international airport, the Prime Minister will perform "bhoomi pooja" for the prestigious Srinagar-Kanyakumari corridor. He will inaugurate a Delhi Public School branch in Srinagar, a railway bridge at Qazigund and computer reservation centres at some district headquarters.

The ruling PDP, expecting a "big economic and employment package", is working overtime to make Mr. Vajpayee's public meeting a grand show and, the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has directed his MLAs to ensure the maximum participation of the people.

This has put the National Conference, which continues to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance, and the BJP, which has been criticising the policies of the Mufti Government, in a spot. The Congress, part of the PDP Government, is "silent".

The All-Party Hurriyat Conference has called for a complete strike during Mr. Vajpayee's visit while the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit also asked people to stay away from the Prime Minister's meeting.

More significant could be the arrival of the Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir, N. N. Vohra, on Saturday. However, there seems to be little optimism among the people as far as the political aspect of the Prime Minister's visit is concerned.

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