India has lost the Kashmiris emotionally, they have lost faith in us, says Yashwant Sinha

[WebGuru]

Having assailed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the "mess" in the economy, BJP veteran leader Yashwant Sinha attacked the government on the Kashmir imbroglio, insisting "India has lost people of the valley emotionally".

In an interview to 'The Wire' recorded on Friday, the former Union minister answered questions from journalist Karan Thapar on him being criticised for an article he wrote in a leading English daily on the state of economy that left the BJP embarrassed.

Sinha termed as "exaggerated claims" the success of the various reforms and schemes undertaken by the government like the Mudra Bank.

"I am looking at the alienation of the masses of people in Jammu and Kashmir. That is something which bothers me the most… We have lost the people emotionally… You just have to visit the valley to realise that they have lost faith in us," Sinha said.

Sinha leads a civil society organisation -- Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) -- which has visited the troubled Valley several times and interacted with various stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a lasting solution to the seven-decades-old problem.

The group comprises eminent people from different walks of life like Justice (retd) A P Shah, former Mumbai police commissioner J F Ribeiro, Wajahat Habibullah, A S Dulat, Aruna Roy and Ramchandra Guha.

Sinha claimed he has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue 10 months ago and was "hurt" as it did not materialise.

"I am hurt. I am absolutely hurt. That you ask for time, 10 months has gone by…Let me tell you, ever since I have been in public life, no prime minister of India, starting with Rajiv Gandhi, has ever said no to a meeting I have sought… no prime minister has said to Yashwant Sinha, ‘I don't have time for you.'

"And this is my own prime minister who has treated me like this. So if somebody rings me and says please come talk to me—sorry, the time has passed… I have been treated shabbily," he said.

Sinha also took on Jaitley for suggesting that his shifting from the finance to external affairs ministry when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister was a "demotion".
"How can [Jaitley] say that shifting from the ministry of finance to external affairs was a demotion for me? … If Mr Jaitley with the same stroke wants to say that Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister of today, is handling a totally insignificant portfolio, nobody is going to believe it."

He debunked claims by several BJP leaders and ministers, including his own son Jayant, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, that the government has made massive structural changes which will help the economy in the long run.

Sinha claimed Mudra scheme set up to provide funding to non-corporate, non-farm sector income generating activities of micro and small enterprises, was another name for the Pradhan Mantri Swarozgar Yojana launched by the Vajpayee government.

He said the average loan in these accounts was a meagre Rs 11,000.
"And you tell me, in today's day and age, what kind of business can be set up with Rs 25,000 rupees, Rs 50,000. The party president said that all these 80 million people today are self-employed which means we have created 80 million job opportunities. This is absolutely untenable," he said. — PTI



Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...y-emotionally-says-yashwant-sinha/475811.html

 

[JaDed]

Hmm so weird they had faith in GOI? I never had faith in GOI.

Also amazing is how everyone becomes a humanitarian when outside the party without power,all these shameless people belonged the party that rose on riots.

Nevertheless his report on Private Banks a while back was accurate,was much better FM than Jaitely ever would be.

 

[kaayal]

From my limited personal interaction with a few from the Valley, what he said is the truth. We Ourselves are to be blamed for this mess.

 

[CricketCartoons]

This is why Partition 2.0 is needed to set everything right.

 

[Mrhandsome]

Subtlety cannot hide your inner malice . You have occupied their territory for more than 70 years and you have killed more than a million of them . No amount of propaganda changes that.

 

[Mrhandsome]

Yea lets do this one thing . Forcefully enter our neighbours home. Kill few in the family. Loot the resources and control the place for years. Shut the windows so that no cries reach out. And then go out and tell the world that they are doing their best to help the family but cannot because the surviving members have become 'alienated'

 

[GBK_Fan]

Hmm so weird they had faith in GOI? I never had faith in GOI.

Also amazing is how everyone becomes a humanitarian when outside the party without power,all these shameless people belonged the party that rose on riots.

Nevertheless his report on Private Banks a while back was accurate,was much better FM than Jaitely ever would be.

Everyone is a better FM when not in power. I doubt Sinha or Chidambaram could have been any better than Jaitley in the current environment

 

[GBK_Fan]

Boo Hoo Kashmiris!! Pakistan is that way <==

 

[JaDed]

Everyone is a better FM when not in power. I doubt Sinha or Chidambaram could have been any better than Jaitley in the current environment

While what you say is true but one needs to realize the other FMs didn't have so much foreign reserve and power at centre(Lok Sabha ,Rajya Sabha) as Jaitely ,so its pretty safe to say he has failed miserably,worst was he mocked Sinha for being over-aged and Arun is 64.

 

[GBK_Fan]

While what you say is true but one needs to realize the other FMs didn't have so much foreign reserve and power at centre(Lok Sabha ,Rajya Sabha) as Jaitely ,so its pretty safe to say he has failed miserably,worst was he mocked Sinha for being over-aged and Arun is 64.

India was reeling with low growth under Chidambaram. The current government has managed to turn things around. The problem noticeably has been with NPA and that too is a relic from 2010 which the UPA and Rajan allowed to simmer and we have the situation now. Are there any specifics you are not happy with?

 

[JaDed]

India was reeling with low growth under Chidambaram. The current government has managed to turn things around. The problem noticeably has been with NPA and that too is a relic from 2010 which the UPA and Rajan allowed to simmer and we have the situation now. Are there any specifics you are not happy with?

Prices of fuel(deliberately kept out of GST because of so much tax),increased tax on everything except fresh food,plan to increase the breadth of highways which isn't need of the hour,Sivaji -Patel statues.

And the job outlook, Manufacturing and Service wise,both look low.

 

[GBK_Fan]

Prices of fuel(deliberately kept out of GST because of so much tax),increased tax on everything except fresh food,plan to increase the breadth of highways which isn't need of the hour,Sivaji -Patel statues.

And the job outlook, Manufacturing and Service wise,both look low.

I agree with the failure of job creation. There has been no emphasis on skill development or ensuring manufacturing moves into the country despite our large market. I think it's also a policy failure rather than just a financial one. The blame here is squarely with Modi+ Jaitley, BJP and the RBI.

The statues are a non entity. They are not stopping us from doing the rest, besides the Shivaji one is a state government initiative.

We need to invest in infrastructure. The criticism on improving highways and bullet trains is totally unfounded.

On the price of petrol, I am actually pro tax as long as diesel can be kept in check. And we don't have food inflation, which this government has done a commendable job in controlling. Vehicles are a luxury in India and I don't mind a private vehicle owner shelling a bit more for fuel