Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday and discussed various issues pertaining to the state including the law and order situation.
During the meeting described as a courtesy call, Ms. Mehbooba, who assumed charge of the PDP-BJP government on April 4, informed the Prime Minister about her meetings with various Cabinet Ministers since Tuesday including that with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, official sources said.
Ms. Mehbooba, who is the first woman Chief Minister of the state, sought assistance from the Centre for implementing the ’Agenda of Alliance’ arrived by the two parties last year.
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Earlier, the Chief Minister sought to dispel reports about any animosity between local and outstation students and said her government will ensure security all students studying in the Valley.
“They are our children. These are our children. It is our job to provide them security. I am confident they will come back, Kashmir is their home,” Ms. Mehbooba said.
“These students have been living there for years. We can’t separate people over an incident. I am hopeful they will come back,” she said and sought to draw a parallel with violence in Hyderabad and JNU universities.
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Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who separately met Ms. Mehbooba, said the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister demanded that Jammu and Srinagar cities should be included in smart cities project.
“I have told her that it’s under consideration,” he said.
Mr. Naidu said during her discussion, the issue of NIT students also cropped up and the Chief Minister said that every step will be taken to ensure that students are provided safety and security.
Mr. Naidu also said that the issue of NIT was not between local and outstation students. “We should try to assure students from other parts of nation studying in Srinagar that they will have a peaceful stay,” he said.
NIT Srinagar has been at the centre of a controversy since April 1 when clashes broke out between outstation and local students following India’s defeat to West Indies in the World T20 Cup.
The situation worsened on April 5 when outstation students tried to take out a march outside the campus but were stopped by the police, leading to incidents of violence including vandalism by students and lathicharge by police.