Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today favoured reaching out to the people in Kashmir, saying dialogue and mutual understanding were the key to ending the cycle of violence.
"The anger and pain that is manifesting itself, especially among the young, needs to be addressed. They are our very own and their suffering is ours. Dialogue and mutual understanding were the key to ending the cycle of violence and tragic killings," she said addressing a meeting of the Congress parliamentary party here.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh, his cabinet colleagues and party MPs from both Houses were present in the meeting which lasted for more than half-an-hour.
"I am anguished at what has been happening there. It is a call to our collective conscience...I feel their grief," she said, expressing her condolences to each family that has lost loved ones.
Gandhi said a whole generation has grown up "under the shadow of brutality and conflict".
She said Jammu and Kashmir has a "special place" in the country's polity and "indeed in our hearts".
Referring to the recent upsurge in violence, she said the security forces have a difficult task to discharge.
On the prime minister's meeting with the all-party delegation on August 10, she said he has unveiled a blueprint for reconciliation and reconstruction stemming from a sincere and genuine desire to engage the people of the state.
"That is and will remain our agenda," she said.
