Centre busy with Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls, has little time to focus on J&K: Saamana

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday claimed the Union government was least interested in addressing the issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir as the Centre's focus was on winning the upcoming polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The remarks in an editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' came a day after terrorists lobbed a grenade at a CRPF bunker near a crowded flea market in Srinagar, injuring at least 11 civilians.

The attack, which took place near a heavily guarded complex housing All India Radio and Doordarshan Kendra near the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), came after a top Pakistani commander of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit and two other terrorists were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar and Anantnag districts on Saturday.

The 'Saamana' editorial said it seemed that the Union government was "least interested in stabilising the situation" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union government was holding more and more meetings on how to win Maharashtra and Jharkhand states instead of improving the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, it added.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have entered the election mode once again following the recent polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Their primary focus seems to be on winning the upcoming elections, and it appears they have little time to address issues in Jammu and Kashmir now that polls there have concluded," the Marathi daily charged.

"There was an encounter with security forces that resulted in the death of two terrorists. One terrorist is still at large and continues to fire at the authorities. In October alone, there have been five different attacks (in J&K), posing a challenge to the Union government," it said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister (Omar Abdullah) has expressed concern over the sudden rise in terrorist attacks in the Union Territory, mainly after the National Conference formed government with support of the Congress. The Union government should respond to it, the editorial added.