Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee claims she can solve the Kashmir problem. “Send me to Kashmir. I will stay there for a few months and try to solve the problem,” the West Bengal chief minister said in Kolkata on Wednesday.
As the Valley continues to be a vexed question defying solution for decades, Miss Banerjee claims to have the answer to the Kashmir problem and the ability to bring peace. What has bolstered her confidence is her experience of tackling the Maoists menace in Junglemahal and the problem in the Darjeeling hills. Miss Banerjee held out her prescription for Kashmir when she was asked whether the Kashmir tangle figured in the Trinamool manifesto for the Lok Sabha poll released during the day. She immediately responded to the question and said ”after the change of the government at the Centre” if leaders of Mahagathbandhan want, she can initiate a move to “resolve the Kashmir problem.”
“Peace and harmony should be restored in Kashmir at any cost. If the leaders want, they can send me to Kashmir. I don’t want any chair for that. I’ll stay in Kashmir for a few months and will try to end the impasse by taking women, youth and students into confidence,” she said.
When asked whether it was possible to restore peace in Kashmir valley, Mamata Banerjee iterated : “Nothiing is impossible. If you have the political will, you can restore peace in the Valley. ”
“People never believed that peace can return to Junglemahal. But I’ve taken the people into confidence, initiated different development projects and distributed rice at Rs 2 per kg through public distribution system. I restored peace in Junglemahal,” Miss Banerjee said, adding : “In Darjeeling I first went there as railway minister and initiated dialogues with the then GJMM leaders. Later, I visited the hills many times, created development boards and finally restored peace by launching development programmes and forming the district of Kalimpong.”