J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

CM meets President on J&K Bill
JAMMU, April 27 — President K.R. Naryanan is said to have conveyed to Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah that he was not responsible for the inordinate delay in giving assent to a Bill sent by Jammu and Kashmir, recommending that eight more seats be added to the Legislative Council.

BJYM opposes greater autonomy
JAMMU, April 27 — The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), youth wing of the BJP, staged a demonstration here today and marched to Raj Bhavan in protest against the National Conference demand for restoring to the state a pre-1953 constitutional status.

Bomb defused, tragedy averted
JAMMU, April 27 — A major tragedy was averted when the police detected and defused a powerful time bomb planted by militants on Jammu — R.S. Pura Road, 15 km from here, last evening, official sources said today.

US Senator arrives in J&K
SRINAGAR, April 27 — Nearly a month after the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, concluded his visit to South Asia, a senior Congress Senator, Mr David Bonier, arrived here today on a study tour of the valley.

Govt to deal strictly with truant staff
JAMMU, April 27 — The state government has decided to deal firmly with the employees who play truant. As per a decision taken at a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries here today as many as 6,477 village level committees were being constituted to monitor the functioning of government primary schools in their respective areas.

CM meets President on J&K Bill
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 27 — President K.R. Naryanan is said to have conveyed to Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah that he was not responsible for the inordinate delay in giving assent to a Bill sent by Jammu and Kashmir, recommending that eight more seats be added to the Legislative Council.

Highly placed sources said Dr Farooq called on the president at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi on Tuesday on the issue. The President is said to have told the Chief Minister that he had not received any Bill by the State Government routed through the Union Home Ministry.Dr Farooq informed Mr Naryanan that over a year ago the Bill recommending an increase in the number of council seats from 36 to 44 had been sent to the Home Ministry with the request that the same be submitted to the President for approval.

The Home Ministry had raised some objections asking the state government to explain the reasons that had necessitated the increase in the number of seats. The state government in a detailed reply had explained that following an increase in the Assembly seats from 76 to 87 under the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission, a corresponding increase in the number of seats in the Upper House was warranted.

BJYM opposes greater autonomy
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 27 — The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), youth wing of the BJP, staged a demonstration here today and marched to Raj Bhavan in protest against the National Conference demand for restoring to the state a pre-1953 constitutional status.

A large number of activists of the morcha, led by the BJP chief, Mr D.K. Kotwal, shouted anti-autonomy slogans. The demonstration was part of the auti-autonomy day being observed by the morcha.

Describing the demand for greater autonomy a conspiracy, the activists submitted a memorandum to the Governor urging him to use his authority and prevail on the Centre to reject the demand for restoration of the pre-1953 constitutional status.

The memorandum said if greater autonomy was restored to Jammu and Kashmir it would not only encourage divisive forces in other states but also convert the valley into “a hot bed of international conspiracies.”

It accused the ruling National Conference of “deceit” stating that by trying to secure greater autonomy for the state it was aiming at securing full independence for the valley. It said greater autonomy would be a first step towards the realisation of a free state of Kashmir.

The memorandum also listed a series of dangers that greater autonomy could pose to the people of the state. It said change of nomenclature of the Governor and the Chief Minister to Sadr-i-Riyasat and Prime Minister would be a joke on the Constitution as there would be two Prime Ministers and the Sadr-i-Riyasat is to be answerable to the state legislature and not to the President.

It cautioned the Centre and other political leaders against the adverse impact of greater autonomy when the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India would lose their jurisdiction in Jammu and Kashmir. It stated that all central laws which had proved beneficial to the people of the state would be scrapped if the pre-1953 constitutional status was restored.

Despite repeated assurances from the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, that greater autonomy would not mean revival of the permit system, morcha activists announced that pilgrims coming to Vaishno Devi and Amarnath would have to seek permits to enter the state. Mr Shamsher Singh, President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, and other senior BJP leaders addressed a rally later where they said that greater autonomy to the state would strengthen anti-Indian forces.

Mr Shamsher Singh said during the past 50 years, successive governments had given a raw deal to the people of Jammu, Ladakh and those belonging to the Gujjar-Bakerwal and Pandit communities. With the restoration of greater autonomy the situation on the front may worsen. He feared that refugees, who were settled without being able to get citizenship and proprietary rights of the land allotted to them, would be thrown out of Jammu.

The morcha said greater autonomy to the state would be an insult to security personnel who sacrificed their lives for the integrity of the state.

Bomb defused, tragedy averted

JAMMU, April 27 (PTI, UNI) — A major tragedy was averted when the police detected and defused a powerful time bomb planted by militants on Jammu — R.S. Pura Road, 15 km from here, last evening, official sources said today.

The bomb weighing four kg was planted in a cycle seat at Chak Mohmadyar, the sources said.

SRINAGAR: At least 10 security personnel were injured in a powerful mine blast at Cheepora in south Kashmir last evening, while elsewhere in the valley one person was killed overnight.

An official spokesman said militants detonated a powerful mine at Cheepora in the south Kashmir district of Anantnag when a vehicle belonging to security forces passed that area last night.

The vehicle was severely damaged and at least 10 personnel were injured.

Security forces recovered a rocket from Iqbal Park last evening.

About 6,000 persons, including 4,000 students, took to the streets at Magam today in protest against the killing of a student, Mohammad Sarwar Dar, his parents and sister by unidentified gunmen at Goigam Tangmarg.

US Senator arrives in J&K
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, April 27 — Nearly a month after the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, concluded his visit to South Asia, a senior Congress Senator, Mr David Bonier, arrived here today on a study tour of the valley. During his stay in the summer capital, he is scheduled to meet a cross-section of the separatist leaders and senior state government functionaries.

Soon after his arrival here this afternoon, Mr Bonier met some senior civil administration officers and was apprised of the situation in the valley.

He is also scheduled to meet senior police and security officers to assess the ground-level situation in the valley.

Accompanied by his wife, Mrs Judy, the Senator arrived this evening at the head office of the separatist conglomeration of the All-Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, Rajbagh, and held a meeting with senior APHC leaders. Those present at the meeting include the APHC chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, former chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, Abdul Ghani Lone, Abdul Ghani Bhat and Moulvi Abbas Ansari. The APHC leaders, according to sources, apprised the visiting Senator of the human rights violations by the security forces in the valley while combating militancy.

The visit bears significance in the wake of Mr Clinton’s visit.

The visit is also significant in view of the recent release of top Hurriyat leaders who had been under detention for the past six months outside the state.

A senior executive member of the APHC and chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Mohammad Yasin Malik, according to reports, is also being released. He was admitted to a private hospital in New Delhi early this week as a prelude to the release.

Govt to deal strictly with truant staff
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 27 — The state government has decided to deal firmly with the employees who play truant. As per a decision taken at a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries here today as many as 6,477 village level committees were being constituted to monitor the functioning of government primary schools in their respective areas. Stern action, including dismissal from service, would be taken in case teachers were found to be absent from their duties.

Presiding over the meeting, the Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitley, said the General Administration Department had been directed to constitute and rush vigilance teams to different areas in the state to conduct surprise checks in the government departments. The employees found absent from duty would be suspended and action would be initiated for the termination of their services. The decision has been taken in view of complaints by some MLAs in this connection.

The Chief Secretary took a serious note of the laxity on the part of departmental heads in visiting district headquarters and rural areas for inspecting development works and for listing the grievances of the people. He directed heads of departments to send their monthly diaries to the administrative department, listing details of their visits and works inspected.

The Chief Secretary also asked the secretaries to remain in touch with the authorities concerned and seek money to check the existing trend of non-utilisation of money available under various centre-sponsored schemes.

Mr Jaitley also directed the departmental heads to enforce the austerity measures ordered last year in the current, financial year also. He said there was a need to avoid the misuse of official vehicles and minimise overall expenditure on the administration.