SRINAGAR: Home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday sought to reach out to public opinion in the Kashmir Valley, saying cases against first-time stone-pelters were withdrawn as “children make mistakes” even as he said being “right minded” rather than “like minded” would facilitate dialogue.“Talks can be held with everybody. For this exercise, being like-minded is not necessary but people should be right-minded,” Singh said, adding,“There is extreme love in the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Jammu and Kashmir . It is our responsibility to provide a secure future to the youth.”The minister’s formulation on a dialogue made it clear that it was up to the Hurriyat to decide whether it wanted to be part of talks and and the Centre was not in a hurry to seek the separatist group’s presence. The view in the government seems to be that talks with the Hurriyat cannot come about without the group making it clear that it wanted to engage in a dialogue and did not obstruct peace.In fact, at a press conference here, the minister sharply attacked the separatist alliance without naming it saying, “They give education to their own kids and put stones in the hands of other kids. I appeal to them to treat the kids of others just like they treat their own.” His comments made it clear that he considers the Hurriyat an obstacle, rather than a facilitator of peace.Without explaining what he meant by “right-minded”, Singh said the Centre had nominated a special representative to hold talks with everybody. “He is not here on a visit or a trip. I make an appeal to everybody to come forward for restoration of peace in Jammu & Kashmir,” he said, putting an end to speculation that Hurriyat would get a particular invite for talks.“These children (held for stone-pelting) are not only children of Kashmir but they are also children of India. We decided to withdraw FIRs against 10,000 youths involved in first-time stone-pelting for the sake of their future,” he said.The home minister also side-stepped alliance partner PDP’s plea to extend the Ramzan ceasefire against terrorists in the state. Singh said the decision could be taken only after a review meeting with the chief minister and other security agencies. “I am pained that some people are encouraging terrorism and they did not keep restraint during the holy month of Ramzan,” the home minister remarked.Lashing out at the neighbouring country, Singh said if Pakistan was not able to stop the use of its soil for terrorism, it should take India’s help in combating it. Earlier in the day, the home minister addressed a sports conclave at SK Indoor Stadium. “The youth of Kashmir can change their fate through ‘sports ki karamat’ and ‘taleem ki taqat’,” he said.

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