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Tuesday, February 5, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Senior Cong leader joins NC Convert LoC into IB, says Farooq Kashmiri Sikhs to support SAD Assess relief
to J&K
migrants: SC |
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Senior Cong leader joins NC Jammu, February 4 The Chief Minister made this announcement at a public rally and greeted Mr Janak Raj Gupta into the NC fold. Mr Gupta has been one of the oldest Congress leaders in the state and three years ago he had quit the Congress to join the National Conference. But when he found that the Chief Minister had not fulfilled the promises he had made to him he resigned from the National Conference and rejoined the Congress over a year ago. Congress sources confirm that Mr Gupta has rejoined the National Conference after he was refused ticket for the Jammu Lok Sabha seat. Dr Abdullah welcomed Mr Gupta by saying “We are with you, if you take one step, we will take two”. He meant he would rehabilitate Mr Gupta if he helped NC candidate, Talib Hussain, to win the Jammu Lok Sabha seat. The Chief Minister caused another flutter when he announced his plan of bringing back his son, Mr Omar Abdullah, to the state. “I plan to handover power to him as I feel I am getting old”, he said. Dr Abdullah cautioned voters against supporting communal and divisive forces in the ensuing Lok Sabha poll in the Jammu constituency. He said leaders would approach them for support in the name of religion but such leaders should be turned out of their houses because in the Indian democratic structure, politics and religion could not be blended. He had a dig at the PDP leader, Mufti Mohd. Sayeed and said as Union Home Minister he had sacrificed the interests of the country for the safety of his daughter, Rubia Sayeed who had been kidnapped by militants in 1989. He said had the Mufti not released five militants in exchange for Rubia the situation would not have taken a serious turn in Kashmir. As President of the National Conference Dr Abdullah also released the party manifesto wherein the party has sought vote for the NC candidate Ch Talib Hussain in the interest of the state’s welfare and integrity. The party manifesto has dwelt on the development works carried out by the National Conference government in the past five years. The manifesto had dished out figures in support of its claim that its performance in the agriculture, industry, horticulture, water supply, power, education and employment sectors during the past five years. The manifesto has promised that tourism potential in Poonch and Rajouri will be explored and facilities will be provided at Vaishno Devi shrine. The NC manifesto is silent on some controversial issues, including the regional autonomy, state autonomy and the Resettlement Act when the rivals in the poll fray have started demanding the trifurcation of the state and others condemning the Resettlement Act and the demand for greater autonomy. It has simply stated that vote for National Conference will be vote for political stability, progress and economic development and discipline. The manifesto has counted series of sacrifices the NC leaders and workers have made, which included killing of over 230 party activists by the militants, for defending the state’s integrity and communal and regional amity. |
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Convert LoC into IB, says Farooq Jammu, February 4 Commenting on the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s announcement that the conversion of the LoC into IB was ruled out Dr Abdullah told newsmen here today that “everybody has his own stand but my stand on the matter is quite clear.” He said India and Pakistan had fought three wars and there was the Kargil conflict in 1999 but despite a chance India did not cross the LoC. “We did not go there when we should have gone there (across the LoC),” he said. Dr Abdullah said: “We should have gone there and taken it (the occupied Kashmir) and if they (Delhi) want to do it I will not stop them.” He said the only way to settle the Kashmir problem was to convert the LoC into IB. Answering a question he said the successive governments at the Centre had conducted many experiments in Kashmir for the past 50 years and invariably the experiments included joining hands with the anti-India forces. In reply to another question he said the National Conference government would contest the stay by the court on the implementation of the Resettlement Act, which provides for citizenship rights to those who had migrated to Pakistan and the occupied Kashmir and chose to return to Jammu Kashmir, in the Supreme Court itself. Asked to comment on a party leader, Mr G.N. Shaheen’s statement that the accession of Kashmir with India was conditional the Chief Minister expressed ignorance about it. He said many leaders in the country were saying different things about Kashmir and its accession and he would not like to comment on what others say. |
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Kashmiri Sikhs to support SAD Srinagar, February 4 Having been unable to campaign for the party in Punjab, Mr Charan Singh Bali, president of the Kashmir unit of the SAD (Badal), told TNS here that the party leadership in the neighbouring state had undertaken many steps for the betterment of the people of Punjab. These steps included uplift of farmers, resettlement of victims of militancy and strengthening of communal bonds. Mr Bali said Mr Badal had come to the rescue of the Kashmiri Sikhs in difficult times. He referred to the incident of killing of 36 Sikhs at Chhati Singapora in Anantnag district in March, 2000, followed by killing of six drivers belonging to the Sikh community in August, 2000. But for the intervention of Mr Badal and his party colleagues, the Kashmiri Sikhs had to abandon their plans to migrate from the valley on the pattern of Kashmiri Pandits, who left their homes and hearts with the emergence of militancy about 12 years ago. The timely intervention gave a lot of support to us and restored our shaken confidence”, Mr Bali said. He said after the incidents, which also included killings at Mehjoor Nagar here in February last year and massacre of three Sikh girls in Anantnag district last month, the community was shaken and there were plans of mass migration. But the plan was scuttled and the minority community comprising approximately one lakh population in Kashmir valley had to stay put due to the intervention of Mr
Badal. |
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Assess relief
to J&K migrants: SC New Delhi, February 4 A Bench comprising Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat passed this order after perusing the reports given by the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu, who coordinates the relief to the migrants from the border districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Udhampur. “We are not satisfied with the reports received from the Divisional Commissioner with regard to the relief packages suggested to be given to the migrants from Udhampur, Rajouri, Poonch and Doda,” it said. “The Centre should depute a team of responsible officers to personally visit migrant camps as well as the districts, if possible,” the Bench said, asking for the report of the team within two weeks. The report would detail the measures taken by the state government and whether the relief packages mentioned in the affidavit of the government had been implemented, it said.
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