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Monday,
July 29, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Paswan
champions autonomy, decries Farooq’s policies BJP rebels get away with warning
Rajnath persuades J&K RSS chief Two ultras among six killed in J&K
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Amanullah Khan advocates dialogue Two NC leaders join Congress
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Paswan champions autonomy, decries Farooq’s policies Kupwara (near Indo-Pak border), July 28 Addressing a public rally here last evening, the first by any political party to launch its camapign for the Assembly elections in the state, Mr Paswan criticised the Farooq Abdullah government as well as the Centre for not redressing the grievances of the people. He said growing unemployment had been a major contributing factor to the ongoing militancy in the state. The Centre should finalise an economic and employment package for the state, which could provide job opportunities to the educated youth. He said when he was Railway Minister, he approved the Qazigund-Baramulla rail line. “This ambitious project was launched to start economic development in the state.’’ He also lauded the role of the defence forces in guarding the border. The former minister, along with his party General Secretary A.K. Bajpai, was given a rousing welcome on his arrival in this border town by hundreds of youth and women. He was taken in a procession to the functions. He also said the Centre should seriously consider “greater autonomy” for the state within the constitutional framework of the country. “Everybody including the militants know that Kashmir is an integral part of India. But autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution should be considered seriously,” Paswan said. “The Constitution was framed in 1950 and Jammu and Kashmir had a Prime Minister till 1966. Was that not a violation of the Constitution that the BJP is talking about now,” Paswan asked. He supported the demand for President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure free, fair and impartial elections to the Assembly, saying the “Election Commission had recommended President’s rule in all states ahead of elections for their legislatures and I support it.”
PTI, UNI |
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Rajnath persuades J&K RSS chief Jammu, July 28 It is in this connection that the BJP General Secretary, Mr Rajnath Singh, yesterday called on Mr Shri Kumar, chief of the state unit of the RSS, and held discussion with Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Union Minister of State for Defence, here. Mr Rajnath Singh is said to have persuaded Mr Shri Kumar not to back any non-BJP candidate. Party sources said, under an agreement, the RSS would continue to put its weight behind BJP candidates but at the sometime it would secure an assurance that three to four candidates from the Morcha, comprising the RSS, the Jammu Mukti Morcha, the Jammu Kashmir Nationalist Front, a faction of the Akali Dal and the Gujjar United Front, be supported by the BJP. Wherever a Morcha candidate would be fielded the BJP might not field its candidate. The BJP leaders have started discussing this issue with Mr Madan Das, in charge of political affairs of the RSS, who is in Jammu. The RSS continues to support the trifurcation of the state despite Mr Rajnath Singh’s clear announcement that the BJP was opposed to it. On the other hand the CPM and the CPI have renewed their appeal to the National Conference leadership to strengthen secular forces in the state by supporting the Leftist candidates during the elections. In a statement issued here today Mr Ghulam Mohammad Malik and Mr Atam Jeet Singh, two veteran communist leaders, have expressed dismay over the NC plan of not supporting Mr M.Y. Tarigami of the CPM from the Kulgam Assembly constituency in Anantnag district. Mr Tarigami was elected to the Assembly in 1996 with the support of the NC. Mr Atam Jeet Singh has supported Mr Abdul Rehman Tukroo, CPI leader and member of the Legislative Council for his plan to contest the elections from the Shopian Assembly constituency. He requested Dr Farooq Abdullah to support Mr Tukroo also. |
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BJP rebels get away with warning Jammu, July 28 According to the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Abdul Ahad Vakil, the BJP MLAs have not withdrawn the letter. In reply to a question, he said he had not taken any action so far. Several BJP leaders, when contacted, said since there would not be any session of the Assembly, with its term expiring in the first week of October, there was no need to inform the Speaker that the letter, be treated as withdrawn. Mr Iqbal Gani, Secretary of the Assembly, said even if no fresh session of the House was to be held, political parties should have their legislature party leaders. Reports said Mr Rajnath Singh, BJP General Secretary, sent by party President, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu to sort out the issue, during his day’s visit to Jammu on Saturday, remained busy in streamlining the functioning of the recently constituted Election Management Committee, headed by Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Union Minister of State for Defence. He simply dished out a warning to those who attempted to defy the party high command’s decisions. He was, however, informed how the BJP MLAs had got the letter, seeking a change in the party leadership in the Assembly, framed in the office chambers of a senior National Conference minister in Srinagar. Informed sources said the five MLAs wanted to ensure that they were given party tickets for the next Assembly elections. They feared that Mr Shiv Charan Gupta, a member of the Election Management Committee by virtue of being leader of the legislature party, could oppose some of them. Mr Gupta had once told some of them that they would not be given party tickets. The party high command apparently favoured a soft policy towards the rebels. This was evident from the way action against them had been dropped after they apologised verbally to Mr Kailashpati Mishra, Vice-President of the party. The party high command had a hunch that some rebels might join the National Conference and hence efforts were made to win them back. Still, one MLA did not attend any of the meetings addressed or chaired by Mr Rajnath Singh in Jammu yesterday. Another MLA was present only at one meeting and did not see off the party General Secretary when he returned to Delhi in the afternoon. Mr Rajnath Singh’s decision to entrust all pre-poll planning to the Election Management Committee, headed by Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, was welcomed by several BJP leaders and workers in Jammu. They said the party high command had realised the potential of Professor Gupta. Mr Rajnath Singh had placed the state unit of the BJP subservient to the committee as far as election matters were concerned. He had also taken a serious view of the delay on the part of state BJP President D.K. Kotwal in announcing the party’s Manifesto Committee, which might be headed by Mr Chander Mohan Sharma, Vice-President. He urged Mr Kotwal to announce the names of the committee members within a day or two. According to party sources, the reconciliation between the rebels and the loyalists was only skin deep and groupism continued to plague the organistation. The sources said unless a senior Brahmin leader was installed as party President, the problem of dissensions could aggravate. They explained that in the March byelection for the Jammu Lok Sabha seat, a large number of Brahmins had stayed away from the polling and others had voted in favour of the Congress, which had fielded a Brahmin candidate. They said a large number of Assembly segments in Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur had many Brahmin voters. Their loyalty to the BJP could be ensured if the command of the party was placed in the hands of a Brahmin leader, they added. |
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Two ultras among six killed in J&K Srinagar, July 28 The two militants, including a foreigner, were killed in Kalaroos area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir last night, the spokesman said. He said they were killed in separate encounters by security forces and an AK rifle, two under-barrel grenade launchers with three grenades, four hand grenades and some Pakistani currency were recovered from them. Militants kidnapped and later killed three persons — ex-serviceman Atta-ullah and Mohammad Aslam, residents of Poonch district, and Ghulam Nabi Paul of Paymus, Badgam district, from their villages, the spokesman said. He said militants shot dead Mohammad Qasim Gujjar in his house at Thanamandi area of Rajouri district today. Unknown persons kidnapped Ghulam Nabi Malla from his house at Pazmulla in Anantnag last night, the spokesman said. He said a boy, Riyaz Ahmad, was abducted by unidentified militants from his house at Ale-kulhand in Doda district at gun-point. Three suspected militants were arrested from Basholi area of Kathua district while another was nabbed in Khurhama in Kupwara district last night, the spokesman said.
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Amanullah Khan advocates dialogue Jammu, July 28 Speaking to UNI over phone this evening, Mr Khan endorsed the advice of Mr Balraj Puri — former Working Chairman of Regional Autonomy Committee set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government that the leadership of Kashmir should initiate an inter-regional and intra-regional dialogue with the people of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmiri Pandits. “There is an urgent need for restoring faith and confidence between different regions of the state so that there is no cry of discrimination from any region of the state,” he said. Mr Khan termed Mr Puri’s advise as “most realistic and most timely” to build healthy relations between different parts of the state. The JKLF was split in 1994 between groups headed by Mr Amanullah Khan and Mr Yasin Malik.
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Two NC leaders join Congress Srinagar, July 28 Ghulam Nabi Patil and Mohammad Maqbool Bhat of Pulwama district announced their decision at a public meeting addressed by Pradesh Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad at Kakapora, 23 km from here, yesterday. Welcoming the two leaders to his party, Azad said as the National Conference government in the state had “failed” to fulfil expectations of the people, they were joining the Congress.
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