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Friday,
April 4, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Rift with morcha may cost BJP dear Mufti’s healing touch
‘benefiting militants’ Gazi Naseeruddin is new Hizb
chief Heavy shelling in Nowshera
sector |
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140 kin of militancy victims get
jobs Demonstration by trade unionists 2 DD employees
detained
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Rift with morcha may cost BJP dear Jammu, April 3 Though state party president, Dr Nirmal Singh, has tried to carry with him staunch supporters of Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Minister of State for Defence, the rift between the two factions has become an Achilles’ heel for the BJP though Professor Gupta has preferred to remain on the sidelines. Professor Gupta has been commanding a lot of influence, not only among BJP workers and leaders but also among the people in the Jammu region. Since the RSS-backed faction in the BJP has been blaming Professor, Gupta for sabotaging unity moves, he has decided to watch the party activities from the sidelines, which is expected to affect BJP fortunes in the future. What seems to worry the BJP leadership in Jammu is that the state morcha, headed by RSS chief Sri Kumar, has not abandoned its plan to contesting the civic elections. Soon after the October Assembly elections the BJP leadership had told the party command that the party rout in which it won only one seat, was the result of the RSS-led state morcha having entered the poll fray. After a series of meetings in Delhi, the RSS supremo had deputed party General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat, to Jammu, where he had directed the morcha to stay away from the poll process and drop the plan of contesting the civic elections. Mr Bhagwat had reportedly ignored the pleas of the morcha leaders, who had told him that keeping away from the poll process would amount to their political death. However, the RSS leader had informed them that keeping away from the election process would be limited to the civic poll and the matter could be discussed later. This had given some relief to the BJP leadership, but it remained, momentary. Another senior RSS leader, Mr Indresh Kumar, had visited Jammu, where he held series of meetings with morcha leaders. During these secret meetings he had reportedly suggested to the morcha leaders that they could field candidates who would contest the civic poll on the BJP symbol. The BJP leadership feels rattled by the secret activities of an RSS leader, in whose jurisdiction the party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir do not fall. Several senior BJP leaders, including, Dr Nirmal Singh have told to the high command that in case the morcha fields its candidates in the civic elections on the BJP symbol, it will shatter the BJP base in Jammu. The BJP leadership has pleaded to the high command to persuad the RSS supremo to intervene and force the morcha to stay away from the poll process. Their argument is that the civic poll will give a chance to the BJP to cross swords with the Congress and the Panthers Party. The Congress had challenged the BJP in its own bastian in the three Assembly constituencies in Jammu city. The BJP had a blank whereas in 1996, all three seats had been bagged by the BJP. According to a number of BJP leaders, if they lose the civic poll, it may be the last nail in their coffin. The RSS should support their candidates, they say. However, the morcha seems to be determined to test its strength in the civic poll. It has set up mohalla committees the first step in the preparation for contesting the civic poll. If the BJP and the RSS continue to be bogged down by conflict, the Congress may be the main gainer in the civic poll. |
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Mufti’s healing touch
‘benefiting militants’ Jammu, April 3 The PDP of the Mufti is learnt to have made it a point not to budge from its stand that has been so gainful for the party. The Mufti has been claiming that the policy has relaxed the atmosphere in the state and it is the only means of making the masses join the normalisation efforts. He does not believe that the recent spurt in incidents of terrorism is because of his policy and says that these are attempts of the enemy to derail the peace process. The Mufti has said that the enemy has not relished the change in the situation because of various steps taken by the government. The enemy will try to thwart his efforts by striking at soft targets like Kashmiri Pandits. On the other hand, the opponents of the Mufti have started saying that, by deciding to set up a special group under a senior official of the Home Ministry to look after the security scenario in the state, the Centre has virtually snubbed the Mufti for his government’s failure to protect the lives of the minorities in the Valley. The National Conference has been claiming that there is nothing new in the policy of the PDP government. The previous government had also released some detenues, but only after consulting the security agencies. Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has criticised this policy of the Mufti-led coalition government. In a joint statement issued here, Mr Ramakant Dubey, state VHP president, alleged that the Mufti was misleading the people on the policy. |
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Gazi Naseeruddin is new Hizb
chief Srinagar, April 3 The Hurriyat Conference and the Hizb have jointly called for a general strike tomorrow in protest against his killing. The Hurriyat alleged that Saif-ul-Islam was “tortured to death by the security forces”. A Hurriyat spokesman alleged that 60-year-old Ghulam Hassan Khan, alias
Saif-ul-Islam, was killed after “security forces slit his throat and tortured him”. However, according to the police Saif-ul-Islam was killed while trying to escape during a retaliatory action when a joint party of the BSF and the police came under an attack by hiding militants near Sutsoo Kalan,
Puhroo. The joint party was deputed for further recoveries of arms and ammunition and apprehending militants from a hideout in the area, or the disclosures of the apprehended Operational Commander. The militants managed to escape under the cover of darkness leaving behind one AK rifle, three magazines with 30 rounds and two grenades, a police spokesman said. Earlier, acting on a specific information, the police and Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended Ghulam Hassan Khan code Engineer
Zaman, alias Saif-ul-Islam, Deputy Supreme Commander and Operational Commander of
Hizb-ul- Mujahideen from Chhanapora in Budgam district on the outskirts of Srinagar yesterday. A huge cash of Rs 92.97 lakh, a Chinese pistol, eight rounds and a satellite phone were recovered from his possession. The Hurriyat spokesman criticised the authorities for not handing over Saif-ul-Islam’s body to his relatives and Hurriyat leaders. Hurriyat leaders, including its Chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Yasin Malik, Javid Mir and advocate Sheikh Ali Mohammad had gone to the police station to take the body, he said, adding that the police refused to hand over the body to them. The Hizb Command Council under its Chief Syed Salahuddin held an emergency meeting in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) today to chalk out the future strategy following Saif-ul-Islam’s killing. A statement faxed to the local media organisations from PoK today said the Command Council described his killing as “a great loss to the organisation”. The Command Council has also given a general strike call tomorrow. |
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Heavy shelling in Nowshera sector Jammu, April 3 The Pakistani troops targeted Seeri, Mukeri and Bhawani areas in the Nowshera sector with mortar bombs since last night, forcing the Indian troops to retaliate. The intense exchange of shelling took place from 8.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. today. However, there was no report of any loss of life or damage on the Indian side. Intermittent small arms firing exchange between the Pakistani Rangers and the BSF troops along the International Border was also reported at Channi in Arnia sector and the Narayanpur in the Ramgarh sector during last night. However, there was no damage on our side.
PTI |
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140 kin of militancy victims get
jobs Jammu, April 3 Addressing a public meeting in Doda town, He said the policy was now being appreciated at the national level as well. “I have been receiving telephone calls from different parts of the country asking me not to give up this policy”, he said. “A favourable climate is now building up in the country towards our multi-pronged strategy to restore peace in the violence-hit Jammu and Kashmir state, Mufti said. He said: “We are not soft on militants but firm in our determination to deal with the situation as per our well-conceived strategy. We have to turn around the situation”. Militancy, he said, has to be fought with our determination and commitment but at the same time we have to ensure that innocent people are not harmed. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said vested interests within and across the border were attempting to sabotage our efforts, but neither we would deviate from our path nor any incident can weaken our determination to bring normalcy. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, MP and Chairman, coordination committee of the coalition government, appreciated the policies of the state government and said while the previous Farooq government had claimed to have recruited over a lakh persons, they ignored the victims of militancy. The next of kin of those who were killed by militants as early as 1990 were given job today by the Mufti government. He said over 1500 victims of militancy have been given jobs by the coalition government. |
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Demonstration by trade unionists Jammu, April 3 Other prominent leaders who participated in the demonstration and addressed the gathering were MLAs Manjeet Singh (BSP), Balwant Singh Mankotia and Fakir Nath (both JKNPP), Ghulam Nabi Lone (PDP), Mohd Khalil Naikoo (CPM), ex-MLAs Sheikh Abdul Rehman and Dhanraj Balgotra and Congress leader Rafiq Sadiq. The leaders lashed out at the JP Industries management for its attitude and criticised the role of the police. They expressed solidarity with the workers and warned the state government not to side with the management. The leaders called for government intervention in meeting the demands of the workers. The leaders also warned the management to stop repressive measures, avoid confrontation and reinstate the 1500 retrenched workers and implement labour laws without delay, failing which the working class would launch a statewide agitation. UNI |
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2 DD employees
detained Srinagar, April 3 A technician and a gardner of the kendra have been taken into custody for interrogation. Bali went missing after he left his home for Bandipora of official work on March 24 last month.
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