‘We are pressing for the PM to announce a comprehensive ceasefire

• The NC is again cosying up to Vajpayee and L K Advani. Are you thinking of joining back the NDA coalition?
Mahesh Patil

We are not cosying up to anyone. I called on Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani in their capacity as leaders of the Opposition in the country. I shared an excellent working relationship with both gentlemen as a minister in the NDA government and see no reason why I cannot call on them from time to time without rejoining the NDA.

• If today a plebiscite was held in Jammu & Kashmir (the entire state as it existed in 1947) and the people were given three options—merger with India, merger with Pakistan or an independent country—what do you think will the outcome be?
Suhrud Javadekar

This is a hypothetical situation. The conditions for this plebiscite were never created. However an independent survey conducted some years ago would give an indication of the possible outcome—it will be a close result between freedom and merger with India as you are taking the entire J-K and not just the part with India.

• You are a strong advocate of talking to hardline separatist leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and also the Hizbul Mujahideen, which is responsible for several terrorist incidents in the state. How do you think it will help the country to talk to those who have made it clear that their loyalties lie in the neighbourhood?
Nitin Jamwal

The country needs to open channels with all shades of opinion. Today states have started dialogues with armed groups without insisting that they lay down weapons. We advocate a dialogue with the Hizbul but only after a comprehensive ceasefire (as was done during the previous NC government in the state). Geelani represents a school of thought that must be taken into consideration while seeking a solution to the Kashmir issue. We are pressing for the Prime Minister to announce a comprehensive ceasefire during his forthcoming visit to the state to kickstart the stalled peace process. If we can talk to Pakistan about Kashmir, why on earth can’t we talk to Kashmiris about Kashmir?

• You seem to be getting close to the Awami Action Committee’s Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, while the PDP is looking for a foothold in the Valley by wooing Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Are the political battlelines already drawn up for Kashmir Valley?
Ghulam Rasool

We are sitting at opposite ends of the political spectrum, though there is history on our side. Our fathers were the authors of the historic double Farooq accord that ended years of animosity. That having been said, it would take a monumental shift in political ideology by one of us to enable us to share a common stage. I have long been an admirer of his conduct and the fact that his politics does not come in the way of his being a gentleman. Something our Chief Minister could learn.

• After the IED attack, you said you were sharing a jammer with your father Farooq Abdullah and that your bullet-proof car was not in a working condition. But why did you not raise the issue with the J&K government earlier?
Subhash Gupta

I got tired of raising this issue with the state government. These two lapses in security you point out are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

• Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has recently outlined a proposal to sort out the Kashmir issue? What do you think of the proposal?
Yusuf

What I think is less important than what the common man in J-K thinks. They want a solution for the entire state and not just parts of it. This is something the President will have to keep in mind. We are not going to stand by and watch our state being dismembered.

• I am from Kathua (Jammu), and I am a computer consultant working and living in London for the past four years. I am concerned about the future of my state and the condition the people there are living in. This has never changed, irrespective of who is in power. I am concerned about the attack on your life but why isn’t the government concerned about the security of normal people who are being killed everyday?
Naveen

This is a question for the government. I am neither a part of the Centre nor the state government so cannot take the liberty to answer on their behalf.