Talks with Separatists? BJP to set agenda at Patnitop meet

Madhav, pro-BJP think tank to discuss K-issue at conclave beginning tomorrow

Amid speculation that the Centre is going to engage the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist groups into the dialogue process to bring normalcy in the turbulent Kashmir valley, BJP’s national general secretary Ram Madhav along with some intellectuals will conduct a two-day brain-storming session to set agenda for the talks.
The session will be held at the picturesque Patnitop area of the Jammu division on August 6 and 7 where intellectuals from different parts of the country will sit together and discuss prevailing situation in the Valley.
The two-day meeting will be held under the banner of India Foundation, a think tank comprising journalists, thinkers and intellectuals, who are known for their inclination towards the BJP and affiliated organisations.
Highly placed sources said Ram Madhav, who is the one of the member of the Board of Director of India Foundation, is instrumental in organising the meeting to set agenda for starting dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the objective of holding this conclave was to discuss all issues with the “like-minded” intellectuals to evolve consensus on some contentious issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir before bringing separatists on table. “A group within the BJP is of the view that the stalled dialogue process with separatist groups of Kashmir should be started to engage such forces. The coming meeting of India Foundation is first step in this direction to do home work before initiating dialogue process on the vexed Kashmir issue,” said the sources, adding that some Union ministers and top stalwarts of RSS were likely to attend the closed-door conclave.
Four Union ministers belonging to the BJP — Suresh Prabhu, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jayant Sinha and MJ Akbar — are on the board of India Foundation so they are expected to participate in the conclave. According to the official website of India Foundation, the aim of the conclave was to bring together like-minded young thinkers with a view to brainstorm over various issues of national and international significance.