The Centre is considering an economic package for the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir besides talking to separatist leadership there in a bid to resolve the problems in the state.
"We will try to see how there is a meeting of minds between the two sides and we will try to solve the problem through talks. But that's not the only thing. We will have to do some other things also. An economic package will help them," Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said in an interview to Karan Thapar on BBC World.
He was replying to questions about the Centre's approach in solving the Kashmir issue. The government had already initiated the exercise of contacting separatist Hurriyat Conference leaders to finalise the dates for talks in July.
Asked whether he was "too junior" to be directly involved in parleys with Kashmir's moderate leaders, Patil said: "I think if the home minister is not capable of talking to them, (and) if the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) has to talk to them, we shall have to see...these are things that have to be dealt in a proper manner in order to solve the problem."
He also talked of handling issues relating to Kashmir in a "very just, sympathetic and correct manner" and said providing employment to people would also help.
On if a preliminary meeting with the prime minister might be a way of engaging separatist leaders like firebrand pro-Pakistan Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Patil said, "Such promises should not be extracted from the home minister. I am not saying yes or no to it. I am saying that those who have been given the responsibility to talk to them will talk to them."
Asked whether he is prepared to "reward" moderate leaders as a way of persuading other people to talk to the government, Patil said, "Definitely". He, however, did not elaborate.
The home minister made it clear that "terrorism is something which is not acceptable to civilised society in the country and the world. That is the position. And yet if some mistaken brothers and sisters are there, it is our duty to see that they understand the situation in a correct fashion and act in a correct manner."
To a question on Congress' vision on how to combat terrorists and insurgents, he said they need to be engaged in talks, educated, persuaded and convinced that taking to arms is not going to solve the problem.
"Create harmony and then use whatever is available with you to solve the problem. We want to understand them, we want to convince them, persuade them and we would like to give them the chance to convince us and persuade us. It's give and take," he said.
Asked if the Centre is considering dismissing the Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh, Patil put a counter query, "What makes people think that we will be doing that?"
On the opposition tirade in Parliament over "tainted" persons being appointed ministers, he said: "Cases of any kind can be filed against anybody. Until or unless that person is convicted, he is supposed to be innocent."
Observing that if Congress and its allies had not formed the government, the other side would have formed it, Patil said, "Even the other side would have included ministers against whom cases have been filed, in which thousands have been killed. You can put any interpretation on any incident that has taken place."
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