TheBharatiya Janata Party will revive a plan to build secured camps to resettlescores of Hindus in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, senior leader RamMadhav said, a proposal that would almost certainly heighten tensions in therestive region.

Madhav, who is the BJP national general secretary responsiblefor Kashmir, said BJP was committed to helping bring back some of the estimated200,000-300,000 Hindus who fled the Kashmir Valley in the aftermath of an armedrevolt that began in 1989. The scenic mountain region is divided between India,which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated Jammu region,and territory in the west that is controlled by Pakistan. The rival nationsboth claim the region in full.

"Their fundamental rights of returning to the valleyhave to be respected. At the same time, we have to provide them propersecurity," Madhav said in an interview, referring to the Kashmiri Hindus,also known as Pandits. Nearly 7 million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97%of them Muslim, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and armedpolice deployed to quell an uprising against New Delhi`s rule. About 50,000people have been killed in the conflict in the last three decades, according toofficial figures.

Madhav said that a previous BJP-backed government in Jammuand Kashmir state had considered building either separate or mixed resettlementtownships, but had been unable to make headway. "No consensus could bebuilt around any one view," he saiThe construction of segregated enclaveshas little or no support from the region`s local political parties, Muslimleadership and groups representing the Hindus who fled.

Home ministry, which would be involved in any such buildingactivity in the Kashmir Valley, did not respond to a request for comment.

A blueprint unveiled by the state government in 2015 hadproposed self-contained, heavily guarded colonies for returning Pandits,complete with schools, shopping malls, hospitals and playgrounds.  Separatist groups in the region had opposedthe project, with some likening it to Israeli settlements within Palestinianterritories.The plan eventually stalled, particularly after the BJP`s alliancewith a major regional party collapsed in June 2018, leading to the state comingunder New Delhi`s direct rule. New state elections are likely before the end ofthe year.