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Leak
of confidential document
At RS Pura, JKPCC chief skips rally to placate Sports Minister
Justice
Sagheer Ahmed Committee report |
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Dumping
of Garbage at Kangryl
Governor greets people on Christmas, Losar
Be conscious of duties, rights, Governor tells youth
NCC inculcates discipline among youth: Governor
Villagers protest diversion on link road
Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to organise 10-day festival
Lawyers suspend strike, resume court work
Militants kill NC worker
PDP holds protests against corruption
MAM College conducts mock test
NC students’ union forms unit
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Leak
of confidential document
Talking to The Tribune, Soz said the state unit of the Congress was behind Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, whose name figured in the leaked confidential document. “Law will take its own course, but we support our minister on the issue,” he said. When his attention was drawn to apprehensions of senior Congress leaders that some forces in the administration were hatching conspiracies to defame the ministers belonging to party, Soz said, “I did not rule out such possibilities”. He, however, did not mention who were the forces that were behind such conspiracies. He said the secret document leak case in which the Health Minister’s name figured, should be properly investigated. Meanwhile, the controversy about secret document leak has snowballed as the Health Minister has not attended office in protest for the last four days. The controversy has further widened differences between the coalition partners NC and Congress. As the NC is holding the Home portfolio, the Congress leaders have been pointing fingers at the coalition partner. They are now demanding that those responsible for leaking the confidential document to the media should be exposed and punished. Soz had rushed to Jammu on Friday in view of the brewing resentment among the party cadre and had convened a close-door meeting with party leaders to devise a strategy to resolve the crisis by exerting pressure on the NC. Soz was scheduled to reach Jammu this afternoon but he advanced his visit following pressure from party workers. The sources said the Congress leadership had decided not to buckle under “pressure tactics” of the NC this time. It had vowed to take the “fight” of the Health Minister to its logical end. The Health Minister, who had briefed Soz about the issue three days ago, reportedly told the PCC chief that the issue had been raked up to defame him, the sources said. The Congress leadership appreciated the stand taken by him, they added. The sources said Soz called his three confidant Cabinet ministers, namely Raman Bhalla, RS Chib and Sham Lal Sharma, to chalk out the future course of action on the issue last evening. As reported earlier, Sham Lal Sharma had been demanding punitive action against police officers responsible for the leak of the confidential document naming him. In the absence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, some senior
NC leaders and ministers had tried to placate him, but to no avail. |
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At RS Pura, JKPCC chief skips rally to placate Sports Minister
Jammu, December 24 Spokesman for the JKPCC Ravinder Sharma said Soz could not address the rally due to some “emergent’ work, but sources said Chib had threatened to take some “extreme step” if Soz attended the rally. Chib, who too belongs to RS Pura, had complained that Bhagat had deliberately ignored him while finalising the programme of the JKPCC chief. On Friday evening, Chib cautioned Soz that his decision to attend the rally would give a wrong message and would also humiliate him (Chib). The sources said Chib had taken a tough stand and had even threatened to resign instead of facing “humiliation” at the hands of a new entrant into the party. Bhagat, a youth leader of the Panthers Party, had joined the Congress after the 2008 Assembly elections and in a short time become close to many senior leaders, including Lok Sabha member from the Jammu-Poonch segment Madan Lal Sharma. He had reportedly emerged as a strong contender for the reserved RS Pura Assembly segment. The sources said till Friday evening Soz was in two minds but this morning he decided to skip the rally following pressure from Chib. Interestingly, Chib sat with Soz at the Government Guest House till the rally ended at RS Pura. As soon as the rally ended, Chib along with Soz went to address another political function at Barnai, on the outskirts of Jammu city. “Infuriated” over Chib’s attitude, Bhagat, while addressing the rally, said the senior minister was afraid of his growing popularity. A heavy turnout in today’s rally was a clear indication that the people were with him, he said. |
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Justice
Sagheer Ahmed Committee report
Jammu, December 24 Justice Sagheer Ahmed (retd) headed the Prime Minister’s Fifth Working Group on Centre-State Relations. He submitted his report two years ago. The gist of the report was that the contentious issues of autonomy, Article 370 and regional aspirations needed to be discussed by the state government and the residents of the state. Sources said the December 27 meeting was likely to seek another extension of term as a consensus on the sensitive issues may not yet be evolved. Further, due to the ongoing controversy involving Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma in the leak of a secret document has put a question mark on who would attend the meeting. The last meeting of the sub-committee was scheduled for December 14 but it was postponed due to the non-availability of Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma and Tourism Minister Rigzin Zora. The sub-committee is to submit its recommendations to the Cabinet for further action. The sources said the sub-committee was yet to discuss all the issues listed in over 30 points by the Justice Sagheer Committee. Justice Sagheer submitted the report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah instead of Prime Minster Manmohan Singh in December 2009, leading to a controversy. It was alleged that the report was drafted on the NC agenda. Later in October 2010, the Cabinet Sub-Committee was formed to discuss the report threadbare and submit its recommendations. It had a three-month term, which was extended five times. |
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Dumping
of Garbage at
Kangryl
Jammu, December 24 The Bhalwal residents had staged violent protests against the dumping of garbage by the JMC. Later, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand held a meeting with the agitating people on December 16 and sought a week’s time so as to enable the JMC to find an alternate place for dumping waste. Even this deadline ceased today, but the JMC could not find another suitable land. The JMC officials concerned have maintained silence over the issue. Sarpanch of Bhalwal Rajdev Singh told The Tribune that, “We had planned to submit a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Chief Minister, the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, and the Municipal Commissioner today but owing to a Congress rally at a nearby place we postponed it to Sunday.” Rajdev said the residents had allowed the JMC to dump garbage on two conditions that a proposal to establish a solid waste management plant at Kangryl be cancelled and some other location for dumping city waste be selected within seven days. “Now, we have decided to hold a press conference, probably tomorrow, to disclose our next course of action. I have asserted on behalf of Bhalwal residents that the JMC vehicles will not be allowed to enter the area after Saturday. We have fully cooperated with the JMC and the administration and allowed the dumping of waste here for seven days,” he added. The problem arose after Minister for Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohi-ud-Din prohibited the JMC from dumping waste into the Tawi. Following the order, the JMC started dumping waste at Kangryl in
Bhalwal. |
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Jammu in grip of Christmas festivities
Jammu, December 24 A large number of people holding candles were seen thronging the St Paul’s Church on the Residency road in the city and the St Mary’s Garrison Church in the Gandhi Nagar area here this evening. Both churches had made special arrangements for Christmas celebration, including a communion, carols, cookies and more. “Historically, the first gospel was preached in the Jammu region in June 1862 by a Scottish Presbyterian, who came from Sialkot, now in Pakistan. On March 7, 1893, the foundation of a Mission House was laid in Jammu. Maharaja Hari Singh had granted a site for the church on the Residency road in 1928,” said Sohan Lal, in-charge of the St Paul’s Church. “The church is at present running many schools and a hospital in the state, besides doing other philanthropic work,” Lal said. He added, “Outside Jammu city, the first church called the Scot Mission Church was constructed at Chakrohi village in RS Pura in 1877.” “The church will hold a Christmas play, which will be enacted by children in the evening, followed by a midnight service and a communion,” Lal said. He added, “For non-Christians, a special functions will be held for performing prayers in English and Hindi, tomorrow morning.” Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Convent School, Subash Nagar, celebrated Christmas today. A colourful dance and fancy dress competition was held on the occasion. Rohit Bains, Director of the school, in his keynote address, threw light on the life of Jesus Christ. Senior leader of the PDP Sohan Singh Sony was the chief guest at the function. Divine Light Kids Academy, Greater Kailash, also celebrated the festival. The principal of the school, Sanjana Kamotra, impressed upon the students to inculcate moral values. The Jammu and Kashmir Christian Dalit Association organised a function in collaboration with the provincial unit of the NC at the Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan here to celebrate the festival. Former minister Ram Pal was the chief guest while senior NC leader Ravi Mahajan presided over the function. The chairman of the association said, “Christmas brings the spirit of peace, non-violence, religious tolerance and
brotherhood.” |
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Governor greets people on Christmas, Losar
Jammu, December 24 In a message, the Governor said Jesus Christ, the apostle of peace, preached love, compassion and brotherhood. He added his teachings were perhaps more relevant today than ever before, when the world was ridden with hatred, greed, intolerance and violence. The Governor expressed the hope that this auspicious occasion would help in further strengthening the bonds of communal harmony, brotherhood, amity, secularism and high traditions of pluralistic ethos for which Jammu and Kashmir had been known for centuries. The Governor has also felicitated the people of Ladakh on the auspicious occasion of Losar, Ladakhi New Year. He said festivals were an important part of our composite cultural ethos and Losar symbolised the high traditions of love, tolerance, amity, communal harmony and brotherhood, which the people of Ladakh had cherished and nurtured over the centuries. Meanwhile, the Governor congratulated Naseem Shafaie and Prof Lalit Magotra for bagging the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards for their contributions to the Kashmiri and Dogri languages, respectively.
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Be conscious of duties, rights, Governor tells youth
Jammu, December 24 The Governor was addressing the annual day sports function of Heritage School, Sainik Colony, here today. He said he was sure that the students of the school would do well in whatever careers they choose in future and would contribute towards the harmonious functioning of society. The Governor released a school magazine on the occasion and presented the Governor’s Best House Trophy for 2011-12 to the Tradition House of the school. Governor’s wife Usha Vohra gave away prizes to the students, who had excelled in academics and sports activities. The Governor was presented the Guard of Honour by the students. He along with and his wife lit the ceremonial sports torch and declared the meet open. Chief Minister’s political adviser Devender Singh Rana, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu Prof Varun Sahni and DGP Kuldeep Khoda were also present on the occasion. In his welcome address, Ashok Pandey, adviser to the school, presented the details of the evolution and growth of the institution. He thanked the Governor and his wife for blessing the students and said this would be a great source of inspiration to them. |
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NCC inculcates discipline among youth: Governor
Jammu, December 24 The NCC contingent comprised 97 boy and girl cadets, who would represent the state in Republic Day in Delhi. They would leave for Delhi on December 29. The Governor said he was happy to learn that a sizeable number of cadets from the Ladakh region were part of the NCC contingent this year. He referred to his interactions with the cadets during two national integration camps in Leh and Srinagar in the past years and said such camps contributed to cultural integration and better understanding among people from different parts of the country. The Governor said the NCC contingents for the Republic Day camp had brought laurels in the past. He hoped that they would bring laurels this time too. He gave Rs 75,000 to the Jammu and Kashmir NCC Directorate to meet the expenses towards various activities during the Republic Day camp. He interacted with the cadets and wished them success. He also complimented Brig Thomas George, Deputy Director General of the NCC, Jammu and Kashmir Directorate. The NCC contingent presented a cultural programme on the occasion.
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Villagers protest diversion on link road
Jammu, December 24 “The Chief Minister is proposed to inaugurate the newly constructed grid station in the area in the next couple of days. Today, the administration started
the black-topping work on the dilapidated road by making a diversion,” eyewitnesses told The Tribune over the phone. They said, “Earlier, this road passed through the sports stadium and the administration decided to make a diversion on it. The locals opposed the move and didn’t allow the black-topping work.” Reports said the protesting villagers also pelted stones at labourers working there. The police, however, did not confirm stone throwing. Local MLA Sukhnandan Choudhary and senior police officials rushed to the village and pacified the protesters. Later, the protesters dispersed peacefully. |
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Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to organise 10-day festival
Jammu, December 24 The festival would be the first major cultural event organised at the state-of-the-art Spiritual Growth Centre, which was inaugurated by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil last month. The centre comprises an auditorium with a seating capacity of around 500 persons, a library, an amphitheatre, exhibition halls, an audio-visual room, conference halls, prayer and meditation halls, art and craft exhibition areas, prayer rooms, food station, guest rooms and dormitories. RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, said the cultural shows would comprise a Kud dance, Bhakh, Karkan, Jagrana and other Dogri and Gojri folk dances. There would be four shows daily at 11.30 am, 1.30 pm, 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm. He added at the centre the visitors would witness exhibitions, make use of the library of spiritual books, buy souvenirs and relish delicious food.
— TNS |
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Lawyers suspend strike, resume court work
Jammu, December 24 A full Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Virender Singh, Justice JP Singh and Justice Hasnain Massodi had yesterday ordered the striking lawyers to end their strike. It had also directed the state to put on hold the issuance of SRO for transferring the powers of registration of documents from judicial officers to revenue officers. President of the BAJ BS Salathia, at a general house meeting of the association, congratulated the legal fraternity in taking the lead in protest against the decision to transfer registration powers to revenue officers. He hailed the role of young lawyers who worked overnight to ensure that the people were informed about the design of the government in allegedly facilitating land mafia. He thanked the High Court for recognising public interest involved in the issue and its intervention by framing a public interest litigation for its adjudication in this regard. Slathia also thanked all trade, transport, social and political organisations, which supported the BAJ in its struggle. He praised the role of the media in projecting in the right perspective the cause taken up by the BAJ. He also appealed to all Bar associations protesting across the state to suspend their agitations and resume work. |
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Militants kill NC worker
Srinagar, December 24 The police here said militants fired at Bashir Ahmad Dar, a shopkeeper, from a close range near his shop around 9.20 am. Dar received bullet injuries in head and was rushed to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Security forces deployed in the area immediately launched searches to nab the assailants. However, no arrests were made so far and no militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. Bashir’s father, Jamal Bhat, a block president of the NC, was also killed by militants in 1996. Today’s attack comes only two weeks after an attempt on the life of Ali Mohammad Sagar at Shah Mohalla in the Nawab Bazaar area of downtown on December 11. Sagar escaped unhurt though one of his security guards was killed and three others were injured in the attack. Meanwhile, the PDP has condemned Dar’s killing and described it as a brutal murder. In a statement, the party said the undemocratic forces behind Dar’s killing must be punished. |
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PDP holds protests against corruption
Srinagar, December 24 General secretary of the PDP and former minister Mohammad Dilawar Mir accused the NC-led coalition government of ignoring the problems of the people. He said this while addressing party workers at the party headquarters here. Mir said the people were facing an acute shortage of ration, power, LPG and the lack of basic amenities. He added the hue and cry by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was meant to divert the attention of the people from the death of NC worker Syed Mohammad Yousuf, who had exposed rampant corruption in the higher echelons of the Abdullah family.
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MAM College conducts mock test
Jammu, December 24 After the test, Pallav Moitra, Programme Director of the IIMCM, New Delhi, gave a lecture on personality development and communication skills to students.
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NC students’ union forms unit
Jammu, December 24 The elected office-bearers are: president--Tushar Singh; senior vice-president--Dilawar Singh Charak; vice-presidents--Mohit Anthal and Abhishek; secretary--Sandeep Singh; and joint secretaries--Sameer Singh and Yaver Shabir. Neeraj Goswami, Jaipaul Singh Jamwal, Angant Singh, Sanjeev Singh, Pankaj Khajuria and Rohit Kashyap were nominated as executive members.
— TNS
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Jammu, December 24
Jammu, December 24