The so-called Kashmir issue is a political "myth" created by the Congress, the National Conference and other such political groups which have a vested interest in the region's electoral vote bank, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Saturday. He said Jammu and Kashmir are very much like any other state of the Indian union.

There is no such issue as "Kashmir issue" and the political leaders who try to rake it up to have a deep-rooted selfish interest in creating an issue out of a non-issue, in order to hoodwink the innocent masses of Kashmir, he said. "The so-called Kashmir issue is a political myth created by the Congress, the National Conference and other such political groups for their vested interest," the minister told a media agency.

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"The biggest evidence of hypocrisy on the part of the Kashmir-centric leaders is that they underplay the fact that even though Jammu and Kashmir have a separate Constitution of its own. The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir itself states that it is an integral part of India," the minister said.

Over a period of time, he said, there has been a deliberate attempt to develop a narrative based on "so-called Kashmir issue" because "it suits certain political leaders for their electoral benefits and suits some so-called intellectuals to achieve misplaced recognition as Kashmir experts".

Reiterating that if at all there is any issue pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, it is only that of retrieving the territory of the state which continues to be under illegal occupation of Pakistan even after 70 years, Singh said. This is not only the BJP's stand but a stand unanimously taken by all the political parties through a Parliament resolution of 1994, he concluded.