Senior Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader Saifuddin Soz today claimed that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was "misreading" the situation in the valley and that the "use of force only produces fragile and temporary calm".
His remarks came after the union minister yesterday said that security forces had an upper hand and it had become difficult for stone-pelters to gather a crowd.
Jaitley had also claimed that the Hurriyat leadership had been exposed and that the policy of the government was aimed at bringing normalcy in the state.
"The senior BJP leader, Arun Jaitley, is once again misreading the situation in Kashmir. He has complimented the Union for producing a situation of normalcy in Kashmir through the use of force," he said in a statement here.
Hitting out at the Jaitley's remark that the Hurriyat Conference had been exposed, Soz said that this kind of thinking was "detrimental" to the Centre, "which has in recent times asserted that it wants to initiate a dialogue in Kashmir".
The former Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief also accused Jaitley of speaking "to impress the gallery".
"The latest statement of Jaitley appears to be totally superficial as he knows that the use of force produces only a fragile and temporary situation of calm and ultimately, the turmoil erupts again," Soz said.
He suggested that Jaitley take a "very serious" look at the situation and "decide to promote a meaningful political dialogue in Kashmir which can best be initiated with the Hurriyat Conference".
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