Jammu, November 5
The Congress today went for a massive show of strength in the Doda and Bhaderwah Assembly constituencies where the party candidates filed their nomination papers.

Before filing nominations, the candidates were accompanied by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and thousands of supporters.

Bhaderwah is Azad’s home constituency from where he has won the elections twice, the 2005 byelections and the 2008 Assembly elections.

This time, Azad’s cousin Mohammad Sharief Niaz is contesting on the party ticket. From the Doda Assembly seat, Azad’s close associate Abdul Majeed Wani, who held charge of the Public Works Department in Omar Abdullah’s government, is contesting the elections.

On both seats, the Congress candidates are facing a tough competition. On the Doda seat, the National Conference (NC) and BJP candidates are giving a fight to Wani while on the Bhaderwah seat, the BJP and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are trying to take away the seat from the Congress.

On Monday, the NC and the BJP candidates in Doda went for a show of strength and managed to gather thousands of supporters before filing nominations. In Bhaderwah, the BJP candidate also put up a good show.

Azad has been camping in the Chenab region for the past many days to minimise the effect of any kind of polarisation of anti-incumbency.

Addressing rallies in Doda and Bhaderwah, Azad sought the votes of the people and said only the Congress could ensure equitable and balanced development in all regions and sub-regions of the state. “Only the Congress can ensure continuity in the ongoing development activities in backward regions such as the Chenab valley.” He reminded people of the Chenab valley of the work done by the governments from 2002 onwards, particularly by his government from 2005 to 2008.

Jammu/Srinagar/Leh, November 5
The filing of nominations for 15 seats in seven districts ended Wednesday. A total of 152 candidates filed their nominations. Scrutiny would be held on November 7 and withdrawal allowed till November 10.

In Leh, Nawang Rigzin Jora filed papers from the Congress, Chering Dorjey from the BJP and Gyal Phunchok Wangyal as the BJP covering candidate.

In Nubra, NC candidate Tsetan Namgyal, BJP candidate Stanzin Delex, BJP covering candidate Tashi Dorje, Congress candidate Deldan Namgyal and Congress covering candidates Sonam Stobdan and Tsewang Rigzin filed papers.

In Kargil segment, NC fielded Kachoo Hussain, Congress Asgar Karbalai, BJP Munshi Aziz Bhat and PDP Anayat Ali.

In Zanskar, Independent candidate Aga Syed Baqir, Ghulam Raza of the Congress, Stanzin Lakpa of the BJP and Ghulam Mohammad of the PDP are in the fray. Sixteen filed papers from Bandipora, 10 from Sonawari and four from Gurez. Those who filed nominations Wednesday included Nizamuddin Bhat of the PDP, Usman Abdul Majeed of the Congress and Mohammad Abdullah Wani of the NC.

Mohammad Akbar Lone of the NC, Mohammad Yasir Reshi of the PDP and Imtiyaz Parray of the Congress filed nomination papers from Sonawari.

In Gurez, Nazir Ahmad Khan of the NC, Faqir Mohammad Khan of the Congress and two other candidates filed papers.

Sixteen filed papers from Ganderbal and 10 from Kangan. They included Shikh Ishfaq Jabbar of the NC and Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the PDP from Ganderbal. Mian Altaf of the NC filed papers from Kangan.

In Ramban and Banihal, 17 candidates filed nominations. In Ramban, Neelam Kumar Langeh of the BJP, Ashok Kumar of the Congress, Chaman Lal of the NC, Swami Raj Bhagat of the PDP, Suresh Kumar of the JKNPP and four others are in the fray.

For Banihal Assembly seat, a total of eight candidates have filed their nominations. For Doda Assembly seat of Doda district, a total of 13 candidates have filed their nominations.

Jammu, November 5
Never before in any of the Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party had a charismatic leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi to charm the voters. Brand Modi is the biggest asset of the party in Jammu and Kashmir.

The appeal of the local leaders, mostly from the Jammu region, is very limited. They are depending on Modi to emerge victorious in the coming polls. It is with this mindset the BJP is going to the polls with a mission of 44 plus. This is something that is unachievable as the mission lacks realism, but what the party is banking upon is the work done by the RSS cadre in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and during floods in the Valley. It is hoping to translate relief work into votes.

Modi and Modi alone can set off a mood change in the minds of over 72 lakh voters. The Prime Minister has won many hearts during his campaign during General Election, which delivered an unprecedented victory to the party. Even those who would have never dreamt that they could ever win an election to Parliament, won it. The only exception was Thupstan Cheewang, a Buddhist leader from Ladakh, who had been a Member of Parliament earlier too.

Thupstan, a man from the erstwhile royalty of Ladakh, is a well-known figure in his region. His work on leading the movement for a union territory status for Ladakh (which was opposed by Muslims of Kargil district) and then subsequently as the Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, has made him a man of the masses. He did suffer reverses in the electoral battles, but at present he is the most popular leader among Buddhists and has the ear of the Prime Minister, essentially because of his hard work on the ground.

His constraint is that there are only two Buddhist-dominated seats: Leh and Nubra. For the rest of the 85 seats, there are no other local leaders who can swing voters towards the BJP’s side. Some such as Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the PMO and state president Jugal Kishore Sharma are making efforts to strengthen the base support. It will be a great test for all of them.

Believing that Modi will get them all the seats they require to form the government on their own, most party workers are being complacent. The strategy of the BJP is to work on the Hindu voters in the Jammu region and the Kashmiri Pandits for the Valley seats.

They are also roping in Muslims in the Valley. It is significant that there are 11 Muslim candidates in the party’s first list of 45. The BJP had won 11 Assembly seats in 2008 riding on polarisation in the aftermath of the Amarnath land row. That was its best performance in the Assembly elections. It improved its show in the LS elections, when it registered higher votes in 24 of the 37 Assembly segments in the two parliamentary constituencies of Udhampur-Doda and Jammu-Poonch.

The party is hoping to open an account in the Valley on the basis of two factors. First, with the boycott call by separatists in Srinagar district, Kashmiri Pandit migrant voters can tilt the balance in BJP’s favour. Second, it hopes to gain from the work done by the RSS’s “Sewa Bharti” unit in Kashmir during floods. But, again, Modi’s visit to the Valley twice during floods would overweigh other factors. That may help the party’s lotus to bloom in the land of lotus —- the Dal lake in Srinagar is known for beautiful lotuses.

Jammu, November 5
Quelling rebellion in its disciplined cadre is the biggest task before the BJP leadership after revolts in many parts of Jammu province after issuance of first list of 45 candidates. The leadership is confident of pacifying workers, but anger is spilling on to the streets with each passing day.

“Such reactions are natural because some workers are attached to some individuals. We have to take into consideration the interest of the party during ticket distribution,” said Avinash Rai Khanna, state BJP affairs in charge.

He exuded confidence that annoyed leaders would be pacified within a day or two. “It is not possible to give the ticket to every aspirants. People are disheartened after being denied the chance,” he said. A disciplined party, the BJP would manage the issue, he asserted.

Resentment and anger among workers is routine in every political party after ticket announcement. The situation in the BJP is different as it is facing a virtual rebellion with a large number of leaders raising the banner of revolt. The BJP is facing a revolt by party workers from Kathua to Reasi.

Anger in the cadre can be gauged from the fact that BJP workers had locked the party office in Kathua over ticket distribution. In the 2008 elections, the BJP had won an all-time high of 11 seats. This time, it has dropped eight sitting MLAs. Six of them have announced the decision to contest as Independents.

Jammu, November 5
State BJP president Jugal Kishore Sharma, elected to the Lok Sabha from the Jammu-Poonch seat by a huge margin of over 2.5 lakh votes in May this year, is optimistic that the party will script a new chapter in the political history of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will achieve the target of plus 44 because in all three regions of the state there is a strong wave in favour of the BJP. All sections of society have realised that only the BJP has the agenda for exclusive growth so the party’s popularity is increasing with every passing day in all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir,” said Jugal Kishore.

“People of Jammu and Kashmir are fed up with parties such as the National Conference, Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party so they want to give the BJP a chance to govern the state,” he said.

To substantiate his claims, Jugal said in the parliamentary elections, the BJP had secured lead on 25 Assembly segments and after May 16, the popularity of the party has increased manifold.

“There is no doubt about achieving plus 44 seats,” he said and claimed that there was a strong wave in favour of the BJP in Kashmir valley also.

When asked whether the BJP was completely banking on the Modi wave or had something else to sell to convince the voters, Jugal said the five months of performance of the Narendra Modi government would be the election plank for the BJP to convince the voters.

“In just five months, the government headed by Narendra Modi has taken many revolutionary steps for the welfare of the common masses so people would vote for the BJP in the Assembly elections,” he said and made it clear that Modi would be an important factor in the BJP’s campaign in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the BJP was fighting the elections to rid the people of Jammu and Kashmir of the dynastic rule, nepotism, rampant corruption and misgovernance.

“The BJP governments in various parts of the country have proved how to provide good governance to the people so we are hopeful that people of Jammu and Kashmir would also repose their faith in the BJP to change their destiny,” he said and added that except exploiting the people, nothing had been done since 1947 in Jammu and Kashmir for the welfare of the common masses. “Furthermore, we are fighting the elections to establish a nationalist government in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu, November 5
The role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is crucial for the BJP to realise Mission 44 Plus.

The Jammu region has been a stronghold of the RSS and its workers play an important role in manning election affairs at the grassroots.

Jammu, November 5
The formation of a BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir will help it promote its nationalist agenda in the only state where the minority community everywhere else in the nation is in a majority.

The party’s core principles of a uniform civil code, building a Ram temple, discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh and scrapping Article 370 have been loathed by the majority community in the state.

In the Lok Sabha election campaign, the party changed its strategy and focused on development and good governance. It is experimenting in the Assembly elections now.

Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who founded the Jan Sangh in the 1950s, died after being detained by Sheikh Abdullah while leading an agitation to remove special provisions granting special status to the state and allowing it to retain its separate flag.

Buoyed by winning three seats in the Jammu region in the Lok Sabha polls, it has emerged as the single largest party in terms of votes.

The BJP’s central leaders have set a target of forming the state government on the basis of an agenda of development, corruption-free government and end to dynastic rule of Abdullahs and Muftis.

The BJP secured 32.4 per cent of votes cast during the parliamentary polls. It got 11.5 lakh votes, the Congress 8.15 lakh, the PDP 7.3 lakh and the NC under 4 lakh.

The success of the saffron party will reduce the bargaining power of separatists as any state government with a nationalist ideology will have a major impact.

Jammu, November 5
After creating a flutter in the BJP camp by filing his nomination papers for the Ramban constituency as the party candidate, Girdhari Lal today withdrew.

Girdhari Lal paved the way for party nominee Neelam Langeh to file the nomination papers as the BJP candidate from Ramban.

“Girdhari Lal today withdrew his nomination and Neelam Langeh filed the papers as the BJP candidate for the Ramban seat,” said Tahir Firdous, Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), Ramban constituency.

On Monday, Girdhari Lal had filed his nomination papers as the BJP candidate for the Ramban Assembly seat and had produced all requisite documents, including the authority letter of the BJP parliamentary board.

However, on Sunday, the BJP had announced Neelam Langeh for the Ramban seat but it was Girdhari Lal who reached the ARO office and produced all requisite documents.

Officials in Ramban confirmed to The Tribune that Girdhari Lal had filed his nomination as the BJP candidate.

“We were surprised when he produced the authority letter of the BJP in the office as we had learnt through newspapers that Neelam Langeh has been given the mandate by the BJP for Ramban. We accepted the form after he completed all formalities,” an official said.

Girhari Lal’s move had put the BJP leaders in a fix. Instead of focusing on campaigning, the leaders tried to put an end to the crisis in Ramban.

Anantnag, November 5
The bid to kill a CPM worker by suspected militants in Kulgam district Tuesday evening set the alarm bells ringing among low-rung political workers and village heads ahead of the Assembly polls.

The CPM worker claimed that a masked pistol-borne man barged into his house and tried to shoot him, but the political worker fled.

The incident sparked worry among political workers and panchayat members, particularly in south Kashmir, as similar attacks had been carried out ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in May.

Low-rung workers fear that attacks will be intensified in the Valley as elections near. “I was forced into hiding for over 15 days as security agencies failed to safeguard us,” said a Congress worker in Pulwama district.

Kashmir IGP Abdul Gani Mir said the counter-terrorism grid had been tightened and put on high alert.

Srinagar, November 5
Chief Minister and NC working president Omar Abdullah Wednesday said he planned to develop Sonawar into a global example in tourism, infrastructure and services. It is one of the two constituencies from where he will contest the elections.

Omar addressed party workers and leaders. He said he had a comprehensive and holistic vision of development for Sonawar. He said he would take the youth on board in achieving goals of employment generation, progress and economic growth.

“I have been brought up in Sonawar and have an association with you. I worked in Ganderbal and empowered a local leader. I will focus on development of every constituency,” he said.

He said Sonawar had unparallelled scenic beauty and formed one of mainstays of tourism. “There is untapped potential in Sonawar which I plan to focus on,”. Omar said he would focus on reducing unemployment and creating more facilities and avenues. — TNS

Jammu, November 5
As official records are being shifted from Srinagar to Jammu for the biannual Durbar Move, most of the important files remain in a decaying state, giving a peep into the full-scale destruction wreaked by the floods in the Valley.

During the September deluge, the ground floor of the civil secretariat remained submerged for over a week and thousands of files were damaged. Even the service records of hundreds of employees and pensioners were lost in the floods.

“We have no other way to transfer these records. The files, in whatever conditions they might be, have to be transported to Jammu as per the order. A large part of documents have been lost and these files were saved…we dried them under the sun,” said an official accompanying the dispatch party from Srinagar.

The civil secretariat and other offices closed down in Srinagar on October 31 and will reopen in the winter capital on November 10.

All the departments of the civil secretariat, including the Chief Minister’s office, personal staff of ministers, the office of the Director General of Police and 50 other offices will move to Jammu with 33 per cent of their staff.

Officials said the government has told all department heads to furnish a list of damaged records to the administrative secretaries. They shall, however, maintain such details in respect of their subordinate offices.

Jammu, November 5
The Army foiled a major intrusion bid by a group of militants from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Sonagali area of the Mendhar sector in Poonch district late last night.

“Around 9 pm yesterday, the troops of the 15 Mahar Regiment observed suspicious movement in the Sonagali area of the Mendhar sector. There were around eight to 10 ultras, trying to sneak into the Indian territory,” said an Intelligence source.

The source further said the Indian troops immediately opened fire and foiled the attempt.

“However, the ultras scattered in the area that made the task difficult for the troops. Consequently, the troops opened small arms fire and then switched over to automatic weapons fire and RPGs. They also fired over 10 rounds of tracer ammunition to see their targets,” he said.

The troops kept firing in the area till 11.30 pm, he added.

Thereafter, they laid ambushes in the area to ensure that no militant sneaks into the Indian territory. “This morning, a search operation was launched and some senior Army officers also visited the spot to take stock of the situation,” he added.

However, nothing was found, said the source.

Against the backdrop of the Assembly elections, various Intelligence agencies have been apprehensive of resumption of firing by Pakistan on the Indo-Pak border and spurt in intrusion bids by militants with the aim to disturb the electoral process.

The BSF has beefed up security along the border from Kathua to Akhnoor to thwart possible intrusion bids by militants.

Jammu, November 5
A core group security meeting at White Knight Corps headquarters in Nagrota today reviewed the security scenario in all 10 districts of the Jammu region ahead of the Assembly elections in militancy-hit J&K.

The core group meeting assumed significance in the context of latest threat by terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat Ahrar (TTP-JA) that attacks in India were in the pipeline.

The TTP-JA has claimed responsibility of this week’s devastating suicide bombing on Pakistani side of Wagah border that left 61 dead and many others injured.

“The security meeting was held to take stock of the prevailing security situation in all 10 districts of the Jammu region for the upcoming Assembly elections,” said Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta.

The meeting was co-chaired by the General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen KH Singh, and Director General Police K Rajendra Kumar.

Additional Director General (Armed Police), J&K, SM Sahai, Commissioner, Special Branch, Abhjit Halder, Inspector General, CRPF, (Jammu Zone), Kuldip Dhar, Inspector General, BSF(Jammu Zone), Rakesh Sharma and IGP, Jammu, Rajesh Kumar were among other top officers from the Army, police, security and intelligence agencies, who attended the meeting.

A joint strategy was chalked out between all agencies to ensure peace and stability in the region and ensure incident-free polls in the state.

Lt Gen KH Singh emphasised the need to remain vigilant, alive and responsive to the developing situation, maintain peace and ensure a peaceful and conducive environment.

The DGP appreciated the Army’s pivotal role in bringing normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and exhorted for a synergised and intelligent application of security forces and its agencies to ensure incident-free elections.

Lt Gen Singh says the Army and its various formations deployed in south of Pir Panjal have been most proactively and aggressively dominating the Line of Control and the hinterland thereby assuring a peaceful and secure environment in the area.

He further stated that the Army was ready to face any challenge that might emerge in the future and was ready to counter it with all its might.

“We are aware of the importance of elections and we are fully geared up to provide a secure umbrella during the process,” he said.

Jammu, November 5
Governor NN Vohra greeted people on the eve of Gurpurb, the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev, and hoped the occasion would be a harbinger of peace and prosperity in the state.

In a message, the Governor described Guru Nanak Dev Ji as an apostle of peace and tolerance and said his teachings would continue to inspire generations, leading them to the path of righteousness and brotherhood.

He said Guruji strove all his life for social justice and equality and to bring about peace and harmony in society.

The Governor hoped that the auspicious occasion would further strengthen brotherhood, communal harmony, amity and secular traditions and would be a harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity in the state.

Jammu, November 5
The Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) Refugee Front today expressed resentment at the financial settlement package recommended by the state Cabinet for the community recently.

As per the settlement, each POJK refuge family will be entitled to Rs 25 lakh in lieu of land deficiency, but there is no mention of compensation against the loss of homes, moveable and immovable property and loss of precious human lives, said Rajesh Chib of the front.

“There is no mention of those families who were paid Rs 3,500 as loan and a sum of Rs 1,000 was deducted from the above amount as interest. They deserve full compensation as recommended by the state Cabinet for their final settlement,” the POJK Refugee Front said in a statement.

The front also demanded reservation in professional institutions of the state and outside. — TNS

Jammu, November 5
A state-level role play competition on adolescence education programme was organised by the J&K State Adolescence Education Cell and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) at Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar, here today.

Teams from as many as ten District Institute of Education and Trainings (DIETs) of Jammu division participated in the event.

Prof Nutan Kumar Resutra, chairman, JKBOSE, was the chief guest on the occasion.

The themes included ‘Process of growing up’, ‘Charms and challenges of adolescence’, ‘Healthy relationship among adolescents’, ‘HIV/AIDS, Stigmatization and Cause’ and Impact of Drug Abuse’.

A team from Jammu district secured the first position while a team from District Institute of Education and Trainings, Reasi, finished second. The group from Poonch district bagged third position. — TNS

Srinagar, November 5
Flood victims of various localities in Srinagar have alleged that they were yet to get free ration promised by the government for the next six months to city residents. They said despite approaching the authorities, the problem has not been solved yet.

Many flood-affected families in localities such as Karan Nagar, Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Pir Bagh and Lal Mandi accused the administration for failing to provide them free ration.

“We are yet to get even the first consignment of the ration to be given free for at-least six months. We approached the authorities in this regard but we are yet to get the first consignment,” said Feroz Ahmad, a resident of Raj Bagh.

Another resident of Lal Mandi said they had received only 30 kg of rice and after that they were not provided the supply of next two months.

Similar complaints were received from people of Barzulla, Kara Nagar, Cooperative Colony and Raj Bagh. “When we approached the concerned ghat, the distributor there said the stock has exhausted. Those who managed to get the supply for a month have not got the supplies for October and November,” said a local resident.

An official of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, however, said they were providing supply to the whole city. He said he would look into the matter.

The government last month announced that residents of Srinagar would get free ration for six months, with a total of 210 kg of rice. Locals have alleged that the distribution was “not fair”.

Srinagar, November 5
Urging the Army authorities to cooperate with the police investigation into Budgam killings, rights watchdog Amnesty International, India, has demanded that the suspected army men be prosecuted in a civilian court. It said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act should not be used to shield soldiers from prosecution.

The rights body, in a statement released today, said the Army must “cooperate fully” with the Jammu & Kashmir Police investigations into the shooting and killing of Faisal Yusuf Bhat (17) and Mehrajuddin Dar (21) and the injuring of two others in Budgam in Kashmir on November 3.

Yousuf and Dar were killed when soldiers of 53 Rashtriya Rifles unit, manning a checkpoint at Chattergam village of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, allegedly opened fire on a car in which the victims were travelling on Monday evening. The J&K Police have filed an FIR and begun investigation into the incident.

“If sufficient evidence is found, suspects must be prosecuted in a civilian court, and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act must not be used to shield soldiers from prosecution,” Amnesty said. It urged the Union Government to ensure that the police investigation into this incident is taken to its logical end by the civilian authorities and those responsible are punished by way of fair trials that meet international standards in civilian courts.

Though the Army has also announced that it has established a Court of Inquiry – a military investigation into the incident, the rights body has cast its aspersions on the military probes, citing past cases.

“Amnesty International has documented cases since 1990, including the killing of an 18-year-old boy in Ganderbal district in 2013, in which the Army has refused to cooperate with police investigations, and failed to hold its personnel accountable for human rights violations based on the findings of the Courts of Inquiry,” it said.

It stated the “Courts of Inquiry are “known to sometimes be based solely on testimony from Army personnel and contradict” the findings of independent police investigations, and have contributed in the past to “impunity” for security forces in the state.

The rights body also urged the state authorities to respect and protect the right to life in accordance with the Constitution of India and international law.

Srinagar, November 5
The Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), an amalgam of various traders’ bodies, today urged the government to come clean over the "conflict" created by the schools over mass promotion and waiver of fee during flood months.

“The government should speak clearly and unequivocally on the conflict created by private and missionary schools regarding mass promotions and examinations that these institutions want to hold right away.

The government had taken a view in the last cabinet meeting for all educational institutions to hold examinations in March next year and grant exemption to dues of students for the months of September and October. It seems the writ of the authorities does not run on the rich, influential and powerful,” KEA chairman Yasin Khan said.

The KEA threatened to launch an agitation in case the government did not address the issue and take action against schools that are not complying with the orders. — TNS