New Delhi: Doubting the Centre's initiative to ensure free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir, former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani on August 4 said the sudden announcement of the elections without necessary dialogue process to involve everyone in the polls would ruin the peace process.

"We do not want the elections to go the same way as it did in 1987 and 1996," said Jethmalani, who on August 4 held a meeting of a group of private citizens christened as "Kashmir Committee" to find a solution to the decade old problem.

"If the announcement of elections in the state was intended to start a dialogue process with those who boycotted the polls in the past and have protested the present announcement, it is well and good," he said on the eve of the first meeting of the committee.

"However, if it is intended to bypass the dialogue process, we do not believe the Kashmir problem would have any meaningful solution," he said.

Those who attended the meeting were former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, 'Times of India' editor Dileep Padgaonkar, senior advocate Ashok Bhan and retired IFS officer V K Grover.

Jethmalani said other two members of the Kashmir Committee who could not attend the meeting were eminent lawyer Fali Nariman and 'Asian Age' editor M J Akbar.

Referring to the recently held talks between Centre's interlocutor on devolution of power, Arun Jaitley, and National Conference representative G M Shah, Jethmalani said, "We want to know what was the talk on autonomy. The nation wants to know what happened in the talks."

He said, "Only elections with a wider participation will instil international confidence. We also want that and for that purpose we are discussing as to what steps to be taken."

"The government should have made its homework about ensuring wider participation in the elections," he said adding, "The country wants to know what will the government do next after the talks between Jaitley and National Conference as the Elections would be held from a short time from now."

Asked whether the government had conferred its "blessings" on him for this kind of private initiative, the former Law Minister said, "We are a group of private citizens anxious to solve the vexed issue.

"Recently Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani made a statement in Parliament welcoming my private initiative. Apart from that our group has nothing to do with the government," he added.

Jethmalani had recently visited the state and held wide-ranging talks with leaders from Hurriyat Conference and other separatist groups including Shabir Shah. He had submitted a report to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee suggesting 11-steps to put in track the peace process.

PTI