The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, February 13, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Sikhs not to shift from valley
Lone, Shah meet senior leaders
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Feb 12 — Following hectic efforts of senior Sikh leaders and Kashmiri separatists, the Sikhs have decided against migration from the valley in the aftermath of the recent killing of six members of the community here.

The decision to this effect was announced by senior Sikh leader and former Akal Takht Chief, Bhai Ranjit Singh, after a meeting of several other leaders with Kashmiri separatist leaders here this morning. Top Hurriyat Conference leaders, Abdul Ghani Lone and Mohammad Yasin Malik, and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) leader, Shabir Shah were among those who met the senior Sikh leaders. All of them had addressed the gathering of Sikhs drawn from distant parts of the valley at the bhog ceremony of six Sikhs at Mahjoor Nagar Gurdwara here yesterday.

The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, who led the central team, second of its type since the killing of six Sikhs on February 3, accompanied by his ministerial colleagues, Mr S.S. Dhindsa and Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, who also addressed the yesterday’s gathering, impressed upon the Kashmiri Sikhs not to migrate from the valley.

Talking to mediapersons at the venue of today’s meeting, Bhai Ranjit Singh, said Kashmiri Sikhs, over 40,000 of them, had a strong faith in their Muslim brethren in Kashmir. “Kashmiri Sikhs have full faith and trust in their Muslim brethren”, Bhai Ranjit Singh declared. He said the Sikhs in the valley were Guru Gobind Singh’s trust with local Muslims while the Muslims in Punjab were the trust of Prophet Mohammad with Sikhs.

The APHC leader and chairman of the pro-independence JKLF threatened to go on an indefinite fast in case the Sikhs decided to migrate from the valley. He had expressed similar views and vowed to lay down his life in that case, while addressing the 10,000 strong gathering of the Sikhs after the bhog ceremony here yesterday. Senior separatist leader, Shabir Ahmad Shah, chairman of the J&K Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) who had also made similar appeal to the Sikhs here yesterday, held in strong terms that he would not allow the migration of the community from the valley.

Other Sikh leaders who held meetings with Kashmiri separatists included the former SGPC president, Mr G.S. Tohra, the All-India Sikh Students Federation president, Mr Harminder Singh Gill and Jasbir Singh Ghuman.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) while favouring the move of the Sikhs to stay put in the valley, has demanded a “foolproof system for the safety of life and property of the Sikhs” in the valley. According to Gurdev Singh, president of the Jammu and Kashmir state unit of the SAD (Mann), in his statement, “all leaders agreed for greater need for impartial judicial probe” by a Supreme Court judge into the Chatti-singhpora carnage, killing of Sikh drivers on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway last year, and the recent killings at Mahjoor Nagar.

It also denied reports that Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president, SAD (Amritsar) had given a call for the migration of the Kashmiri Sikhs and set up camps at Madhopur in Punjab for the purpose. “It was stressed upon by all party leaders at the meeting that communal harmony in Kashmir has to be maintained at all costs and no chance be provided to the adversaries to create any wedge for the realisation of political goals of the vested interests,” he stated.

Hurriyat unfolds Pak visit agenda

SRINAGAR, Feb 12 — Enunciating for the first time the agenda of its proposed Pakistan visit, the Hurriyat Conference today said it was aimed at turning the unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir into a two-way traffic and make the peace process "result-oriented’’.

"The agenda of the Pakistan visit by its five-member delegation is to make the unilateral ceasefire a two-day traffic and facilitate concrete steps to resolve the Kashmir issue once and for all so that people of India, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir can heave a sigh of relief," the Hurriyat Conference said after a crucial meeting of its executive committee.

A Hurriyat spokesman said in Pakistan its delegation could try to seek support at every level to make the peace process result-oriented .— PTI

Sonia reconstitutes CWC
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 12 — In a delicate political balancing act, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today reconstituted-party’s highest decision and policy-making body-Working Committee (CWC) — retaining the old guard and bringing in new faces.

While Mrs Ambika Soni, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr Arjun Singh, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr R.K. Dhawan have been retained, Mr Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mrs Prabha Rau are out of the CWC, they have been included in the Central Election Committee (CEC) which is being headed by Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

The Lok Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, Mr Jaipal Reddy, who for years, successfully handled media as the Chief Spokesman of the undivided Janata Dal, has been appointed as the Chief Spokesperson of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s new team.

The others who remain in the CWC are Mr A.K. Anthony, Mr Madhavrao Scindia, Mrs Mohsina Kidwai, Mrs Motaamma, Mr Motilal Vora, Mr Natwar Singh, Mr Narain Dutt Tiwari, Mr Oscar Fernandes.

The new entrants are the former Youth Congress President, Mr Mukul Wasnik, the former Union Ministers, Mr Kamal Nath, Mr L.P.Shahi and prominent social activist and former Andhra Pradesh Minister, Ms Sarojini Pulla Reddy.

The Nagaland Chief Minister, Mr S.C. Jamir, a former West Bengal Pradesh Congress President, Mr A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chaudhury and a former Kerala Chief Minister, Mr K. Karunakaran, will continue as permanent invitees to the CWC.

While all Congress Chief Ministers have been included in the CWC as special invitees, Mr Bhajan Lal, Mr Chinta Mohan, Mr Madhavsinh Solanki, Mr Sunil Dutt, Mr P.M. Sayeed and Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha have also been nominated as permanent invitees.

Three vacancies are to be filled later, an AICC spokesperson said.

Under the constitution of the party, the Congress President is authorised to nominate 12 members and the remaining members are to be elected.

As the Pradesh Congress Committees, the Congress Chief Ministers and other senior Congress leaders had urged her to avoid elections at the present juncture in the interests of the party, Mrs Sonia Gandhi nominated 20 members. It was mandatory to reconstitute the CWC after her election as the AICC President on November 14 last year but she took almost three months to constitute the CWC as it was politically significant to balance various interests.

Mr Kamal Nath, Mr Mahavir Prasad and Mrs Ambika Soni are the new General Secretaries and Mr Vora, who has been relieved as a General Secretary, has been confirmed as the party’s Treasurer.

Among the new AICC Secretaries are a former Union Minister, Mr Subodh Kant Sahai a former Andhra Pradesh PCC President, Mr V. Hanumantha Rao a former Bihar PCC President, Mr Chandan Bagchi and Mr Bhubaneshwar Kalita and Ms Sudha Joshi.

A senior advocate, Mr Ashwani Kumar has been appointed as the Chairman of the party’s Intellectuals Cell.

A senior party leader, Mr Vasant Sathe has been removed as a member of the editorial board of the party’s mouthpiece “Congress Sandesh” and Mr N.D. Tiwari has replaced Mr Sathe.

Mrs Soni, who resigned as the General Secretary to campaign for Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s contest against late Jitendra Prasada in the election for the AICC President, has come back as the Chairman of the AICC Media Department in place of Mr Azad, who, as a General Secretary, has been entrusted the key state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttranchal besides being retained as party in charge of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar.

Karnataka, which was being looked after by Mr Azad, has now been entrusted to Mrs Soni, who will also oversee party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and in charge of the Congress President’s Office.