New Delhi, December 2
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and discussed the situation in the state for about 30 minutes.
The meeting, the first after Mr Sayeed became Chief Minister, focussed on the financial and security matters.
Mr Sayeed is understood to have apprised the Prime Minister about the measures that his government is contemplating to meet the problems of militancy and unemployment.
Mr Sayeed is understood to have impressed on the significance of the release of militants on the occasion of Id. The Centre had opposed Mr Sayeed’s proposal and it is understood that Mr Vajpayee has given him no assurance in this matter.
Earlier, Mr Sayeed met Defence Minister George Fernandes and discussed with him issues pertaining to employment, industrial development and the security situation in the state. Saying that the state has very little avenues for providing jobs, he urged Mr Fernandes to start a special drive to recruit youth in the defence forces.
Accompanied by the state’s Finance Minister Muzzafar Hussain Beg, he requested Mr Fernandes to upgrade the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and get work done on the Udhampur-Qazigund rail project on a priority basis, besides reviving the HMT factory and modernising the Hindustan Telephone Industry (HTL) unit in Srinagar.
He expressed confidence that the Centre would provide liberal financial assistance to the state to address the people’s problems.
Mr Fernandes promised Mr Sayeed that he would visit the state soon to sort out its problems.
The Chief Minister also met Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and asked for financial assistance. He informed the Finance Minister that the state was ensuring power supply in the evening which is costing the exchequer Rs 1 crore a day. The additional burden should be met by the Centre, he said.
The state is keen to provide free education to the children of militants and has planned the rehabilitation of victims of militancy.
At the same time, the state wants to provide shelter and food to border migrants, the Chief Minister informed the Centre and asked for financial assistance.
The Chief Minister also indicated that his government was
contemplating a plan to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits.
Talking to reporters, he said, “They (Kashmiri Pandits) are part of us and it would be good if they live with us.” Refusing to divulge further details, he said “initially, they will be brought back in small numbers”.
Mr Sayeed sought to downplay his earlier remarks that he would not speak to BJP leader Arun Jaitley on the autonomy issue, saying that the Centre had already committed to hold talks with elected representatives and other sections of the people in the state.
Emerging out of a 30-minute meeting with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani here, Mr Sayeed said, “We are mainly creating conditions for (such) a dialogue” which he described as part of a multi-pronged strategy to usher in peace in the state.
Earlier in the evening, Mr Sayeed hosted an Iftar which was attended by Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, state Pradesh Congress Committee president Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Prime Ministers V P Singh and I K Gujral and former ministers like Arun Nehru and Makhan Lal Fotedar.
