Likely to meet political leaders, to chair security review meeting
Srinagar, May 16: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a two-day visit to Srinagar from Thursday during which he is likely to chair a security review meeting.
The sudden visit of the Union Home Minister amidst his busy schedule especially in the run of fifth phase of Lok Sabha election attracts significance and is being watched by local political parties and observers. Significance is also attributed to the visit as the banned group Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) has said it is engaged in talks with the Centre and expressed its willingness to contest elections if the ban on the Islamist organisation is lifted in Jammu and Kashmir.
The statement has come ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Srinagar this evening.
JeI was banned in 2019 as an unlawful organisation under the anti-terror law UAPA. JeI was seen as the driving force behind the separatist movement in Kashmir and an ideological mentor of the terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.
Shah is meeting several delegations in Srinagar and there is a buzz about whether a Jamaat delegation will also meet the Home Minister.
Official sources, however, said there is no plan of a meeting between Jamat leaders and the Home Minister during his Srinagar visit.
“There is engagement with the group at some level but no such meeting is scheduled with the Home Minister,” the source said. He added that the leaders of some political groups will be meeting Mr Shah and he will review the political situation in the Valley.
Shah arrived at a Srinagar hotel where he is scheduled to meet local BJP leaders ahead of the remaining two phases of elections in Jammu and Kashmir. A local BJP leader said Shah's visit to Kashmir is not political.
“The Union home minister is coming to Kashmir but the visit is not political. Elections are underway. The voter turnout on May 13 is a huge success of the central government's policies, including the abrogation of Article 370,” Sunil Sharma, the general secretary of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit, told reporters earlier in the day.
“I think the home minister is coming to review the measures from a security point of view to increase the turnout and create an atmosphere of peace. There is no political activity but the BJP workers will meet him and discuss the party's organisational matters,” he added.
Sharma was referring to the Srinagar constituency, which went to the polls on May 13 and registered a voter turnout of nearly 38 per cent — the second highest in many decades.
Asked if a Jamaat-e-Islami delegation will meet the home minister, Sharma said there is no such meeting scheduled.
Any non-political or senior people can meet Shah but no political delegation is meeting him, Sharma added.
Shah is likely to be briefed about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir by the top security brass as the Lok Sabha elections will be followed by the annual Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to start on June 29 and conclude on August 19.
The Union Territory might witness assembly elections after the yatra as the Supreme Court has set a deadline of September 30 for holding the polls.
