Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to set up a department in the state to counter ‘radicalisation of youth’, which the party says is the root cause of the current political situation in the valley.
BJP is a part of Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling coalition led by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The Jammu and Kashmir coalition government is the first time an alliance has been formed between the PDP and the BJP.
“I was surveying various de-radicalisation models operational in different countries and will soon submit a proposal on it to chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and Union home minister Rajnath Singh,” BJP spokesperson and Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation vice chairman Khalid Jehangir said.
According to a report in the Economic Times, Jehangir said “Earlier there used to be a social welfare department, but now the government has to concentrate on radicalisation counselling,” The Singapore model of de-radicalisation and rehabilitation, he said, was one of the most viable models to follow for the state.
The Singapore model of de-radicalisation and rehabilitation, he said, was one of the ‘most viable models to follow’ for the state.
“We have seen many secular and even Muslim countries opening these kinds of centres and it is giving good results. Simultaneously, we have to make our police force and security agencies more effective in countering the radicalization by people who propagate the inhuman nature of religion,” Jehangir added.
The BJP leader further added that “the process would involve identifying radicalised youth or those who have the potential to get brainwashed. Instead of putting them in jail, these youth would be put for a certain period in some isolated centres where doctors, religious scholars and security experts would counsel them. After being released, they would be put under strict surveillance.”
According to the BJP, the challenge for the government in J&K is to develop the state and also have a counter mechanism and counter-narrative for radicalisation.
