Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy
The government on Tuesday informed Lok Sabha that there are no deradicalisation camps in the country. The statement comes against the backdrop of a statement by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat last month that children in Jammu and Kashmir were being radicalised and they should be put in deradicalisation camps operating in the country.
To a question in this regard by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said in a written reply, “There is no report of existence of any deradicalisation camps in the country, especially in the Jammu and Kashmir.”
Speaking on the radicalisation of youth in Kashmir, Rawat said at an event last month, “These people can still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way. But there are people who have completely been radicalised…These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into to some deradicalisation camps. We have deradicalisation camps going on in our country. Let me tell you, Pakistan is doing the same.”
The government on Tuesday also attempted to explain the refusal of European Union diplomats to join a “guided tour” of Kashmir last month. In reply to a question in this regard, Reddy said the diplomats were interested but could not join because of short notice. He also said the government deliberately kept the group small to ensure it was manageable.
“A select group of countries representing different geographical regions were invited for the visit in order to maintain the group size manageable and broad-based. The HoMs (Heads of Missions) of some of the EU countries welcomed the initiative but regretted due to short notice. They, however, expressed interest to visit the UT of J&K at a later date,” Reddy said in a written reply.
He said a group of resident HoMs from 15 countries, namely Argentina, Bangladesh, Fiji, Guyana, Maldives, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Peru, South Korea, Togo, United States and Vietnam visited the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on January 9-10, 2020 and met the civil administration, political leaders, representatives of the civil society, including youth from different ethnic, religious and socio-economic communities, representatives of mainstream media and the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community.
“The visit was organised in view of requests received from foreign Missions based in Delhi with a view to have better understanding of the situation in the UT of J&K. During their visit, the HoMs interacted freely, met different people and could see the prevailing normalcy in the UT of J&K. The HoMs welcomed the organisation of the visit and acknowledged the prevailing normalcy in UT of J&K,” he said.