SRINAGAR, 20 September — Main opposition leader Sonia Gandhi railed against both Pakistan and the ruling Hindu extremists at an election rally yesterday in Kashmir, where rebels launched fresh attacks.
Sonia, chief of the main opposition Congress party, addressed the rally in Srinagar as police battled rebels in fierce firefights in a forest in the south of the volatile Himalayan state.
Police said five soldiers and two civilians were gunned down in the forest clashes, while two rebels were killed. Suspected rebels opened fire on a school yesterday, killing a 10-year-old and his teacher.
In her 20-minute speech, Sonia warned radical Hindu groups against carving Kashmir up along religious lines.
"Our stand is clear in this regard: We will not allow the division of the state."
She said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and another Hindu-radical group Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh (RSS) wanted to divide Kashmir into Hindu-Jammu, Muslim-Kashmir and Buddhist-dominated Ladakh.
"Pakistan also wants that. Such acts embolden the enemy and increase terrorism," she said. Sonia is the first top ranking political leader to visit Kashmir since the dates for state elections were announced on Aug. 2. Her arrival in Srinagar coincided with a land mine ambush by militants in Bandipora, 60 km north of here, that left six troopers and two civilians injured.
The condition of two of the injured soldiers was critical, police said. Sonia also advocated unconditional dialogue with the people of Kashmir, including those with "grievances" to resolve the insurgency. "Political problems are resolved through talks and not through guns," she said.
"Talks should be held with the people of all the three regions of the state, including those who have grievances," she said, referring to the separatists and the militants engaged in an anti-India rebellion.
"Talks should be held without any conditions," Sonia said from behind a transparent bullet-proof screen, as nearly 3,000 Congress supporters cheered throughout her speech in Hindi.
She accused Pakistan of fomenting trouble in Kashmir. "Pakistan cannot weaken India’s relation with Kashmir through terrorism," she said.
Sonia charged Pakistan with "snatching the peace" in Kashmir by unleashing, what she said was "a reign of terror" in the region.
The rally was held under ultra-tight security, with dozens of paramilitary troops patrolling the areas around the stadium.
Sonia last week canceled plans to travel to Srinagar amid fears for her safety. Her visit yesterday came a day after militants gunned down two members of the state’s ruling National Conference who had been actively campaigning for the elections, which are being held in various districts on four different dates, starting last Monday and ending October 8.
Militants attacked the Congress headquarters here on Tuesday, injuring three people, including a party activist. The next and perhaps most crucial phase of the vote, which rebels have vowed to disrupt through violence, will be held in Srinagar, in the southern winter capital Jammu and in the district of Budgam, just south of Srinagar, next Tuesday.
Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh yesterday began a tour of Kashmir amid fears of stepped up attacks ahead of the second phase of elections in the state.
An Election Commission official said Lyngdoh would review arrangements for the second round of balloting on Tuesday in staggered elections to the 87-seat state assembly.
Kashmir’s main separatist alliance yesterday called for the first time on voters in the region to boycott the remaining phases of the state elections.
"As in the past, we expect the freedom-loving people of Kashmir to remain indifferent to the so-called elections in the upcoming phases," said a one-page statement by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
"By boycotting the elections in the first phase, the people of Kashmir have amply demonstrated that they are not interested in polls for electing government, but for elections to determine their future."
