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Thursday,
July 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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J&K ASSEMBLY NEWS ANALYSIS Advani
must quit, say Jammu Sikhs |
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Sonia
blames Centre for massacres
Migrant
labour wants to return to native land Agricultural policy
formulated
Scrap
Indus water pact: NC 114 held
under POTA in state since Oct 24 JKLF:
Malik denied medical help Govt
rapped for not implementing report
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J&K ASSEMBLY Srinagar, July 17 “There is pressure from across the border that no elections are held here,” he said, intervening during zero hour in the Assembly here today. He said he would be taking up the issue with the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, later this week and steps would be taken to frustrate the designs of militants. BSP members Sheikh Abdul Rahman had earlier asked the government to make adequate security arrangements for sarpanches and panches in Doda district. The Chief Minister also warned members of both Houses to be cautious. “Our neighbour wants to eliminate us all....be cautious, many of our members have violated security norms”, he said. Earlier, the Sheikh Abdul Rahman expressed concern over the security scenario in Doda district. He said the sarpanches and panches had reportedly received threat letters from the militants. Meanwhile, the appointment of BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley as the Centre’s interlocutor for discussing the issue of granting autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir got a mixed reaction in the Assembly with the National Conference hailing it and the CPM and the BSP opposing it. The lone member of the CPM, Mohammad Yousuf Targami, said the move was nothing but a gimmick. “I wonder how this man will do justice when his recently appointed (party) president at the very first press conference said abrogation of Article 370 was still on their agenda,” he added. Mr Advani never spoke of autonomy as demanded by people of Jammu and Kashmir but devolution of power, he added. Earlier, chief whip of the National Conference Mubarak Bul welcomed the appointment of Mr Jaitley. It was a positive signal that Delhi was serious to discuss the autonomy issue, he said. The NDA government should have appointed a Cabinet minister to discuss the issue with political parties of the state, Sheikh Abdul Rahman of the BSP said. Meanwhile, five of the seven BJP MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir have written to the Assembly Speaker about choosing their new leader in the House, raising the possibility of a split in the BJP Legislature Party. In their letter, they said Mr Prithvi Chand should be treated as the new BJP Legislature Party leader with immediate effect in place of Mr Shiv Charan Gupta, Speaker Abdul Ahad Vakil said. The Speaker said there would be a discussion on the issue in the House after question hour tomorrow and members would be given an opportunity to speak before taking a decision. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Government had ordered an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the rates for grinding of wheat in Jammu and Kashmir provinces, Dr Abdullah said. He said the Inspector-General (Crime and Railways) had been directed to investigate the matter and give a report within two weeks’ time. |
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NEWS
ANALYSIS Jammu, July 17 Almost all major parties have jumped on the bandwagon in an effort to impress the electorate. However, such tactics are bound to increase tensions among the three regions of the state. The Jammu and Ladakh region have already been accusing the successive Kashmir-dominated governments of providing a stepmotherly treatment to them. The latest salvo was fired by the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, when he and his son Omar Abdullah spoke in favour of autonomy for the state recently in Srinagar. The NDA government headed by Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee has responded quickly to the demand of Mr Abdullah. It has nominated Mr Arun Jaitley, former Law Minister, to hold discussions on the ticklish issue. Observers point out that it was in response to the stand taken by the NC leaders that first the VHP and then the RSS came out with the demand for trifurcation of the state by granting statehood to Jammu and union territory status to Ladakh. In between, a demand for setting up a Chenab Valley Hill Development Council for the Muslim-dominated Doda district and parts of Udhampur district also came up. A private member Bill moved in support of the demand in the Assembly by an MLA has been referred to a committee. Many opposition parties have criticised the Bill which they claim is aimed at a communal division of the Jammu region. They point out that their view was reinforced by the Bill seeking to include the Muslim majority areas of Udhampur district with the Muslim-dominated Doda district. A Hill Development Council was set up for Ladakh in 1995 following a struggle by residents of the area and intervention of the Centre. All these demands of the political leaders are making the common man restive and an atmosphere of uncertainty has been created. Residents of Jammu have for the past many years been demanding statehood to the Jammu region. The report of the Gajenderagadkar Commission, which was appointed some years ago following killing of six agitating students to suggest measures for solving the grievances of the people of Jammu, has apparently been consigned to the cold store. At one point of time, some political leaders toyed with the idea of merging Jammu with Himachal Pradesh. However, the proposal did not have any takers. There were allegations that the demographic structure of the Jammu area was being disturbed with a spurt in Muslim settlers in the suburbs of the town. According to figures compiled by an intelligence agency, the Muslim population in the Sunjwan chak has increased by 2036 per cent since the Census in 1981, whereas the increase was 8356 per cent in Rakh Bahu, 1620 per cent in Chhani Beja, 921 per cent in Chhani Himmat and 736 per cent in Chhani Rama. Qasim Nagar, which was recently in the news following the massacre of 28 innocent persons by terrorists, also falls in these suburbs. |
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Advani must quit, say Jammu Sikhs Jammu, July 17 The resolution opposed all plans for the postponement of the Assembly election. It called upon the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to send additional companies of paramilitary forces to Jammu and Kashmir so that the Assembly poll was incident-free and fair. While blaming the central government for its failure to contain the activities of the militants, the meeting expressed surprise over the way the Government of India was “seeking mercy” from Pakistan by requesting Islamabad to stop aiding crossborder terrorism. The resolution urged India to “attack” Pakistan and liberate occupied Kashmir so that the Kashmir issue was settled for all times to come. It demanded that the state be supplied uninterrupted electricity supply because a series of terrorist strike in Jammu had been carried out in areas where electricity supply had been curtailed. It said the state needed special treatment as far as the supply of electricity was concerned and the prolonged load-shedding be stopped to prevent militants from taking advantage of power scarcity. Those who participated at the meeting were Mr Jagdev Singh, President, state Akali Dal, Mr Narbir Singh, President Shiromani Youth Akali Dal, Mr Paramjit Singh, President state unit of the AISSF, Mr Manmohan Singh, and Mr Kulwant Singh, Chief Adviser Sikh Naojawan Sabha. |
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Sonia blames Centre for massacres Jammu, July 17 Ms Gandhi, accompanied by the PCC President, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, and AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni, visited Rajiv Nagar where 28 persons had been massacred and an equal number wounded on July 13. Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, PCC Vice-President, and Mr Raman Bhalla briefed Ms Gandhi about the carnage. Ms Gandhi was moved when she was informed that Rajiv Nagar had not witnessed any development. “We are faced with acute shortage of drinking water and electricity. There are no basic amenities,” a resident told her. A large crowd had gathered around Ms Gandhi who distributed cheques for Rs 25,000 each to the kin of those killed in the attack. She said it was unfortunate that even after the Kaluchak carnage, in which 32 persons were killed, the state and the Central Governments had not taken concrete steps. Ms Gandhi also visited the hospital where the wounded had been admitted. Later the Congress President visited several migrants’ camps. |
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Migrant labour wants to return to native land Jammu, July 17 Many of the labourers here, who have survived inclement weather, but continue to fall prey to miltants’ bullets, say they would want to return to their native land. “I had escaped to Jammu along with my family from Sarndoo
(Kulgam) in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, where my brother was among eight persons killed by militants on August 2, 2001,” said
Nanku, a Dalit who lost his wife and two children in the July 13 firing by militants at Qasim Nagar. Nanku, like other slum dwellers, now wants to return to his native Paruthu hamlet in Bihar, where he had lost his father Partha Ram in an attack by the “bhoomi sena” of landlords. “Mai desh
key pramukh Atal Behari ji aur Congress kee pradhan Sonia Gandhi say poochna chahata hoon ki hum kider zinda rah sakte hain (I want to ask the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi where is the place where we can live),” he said. Like
Nanku, Ram Lal, who lost his son and daughter, said “Dalits have served all landlords from Bihar to J and K but we got bullets and death in return.” “Where should we go in from here,” asks Lal who said they had decided to return to their native places. The labourers have deserted Qasim Nagar slums and were sleeping on roads and dharamshalas since Saturday. “Despite our plea to the state government to fence the slum, particularly from the forest side and step up CRPF patrolling, it has failed to do so,” head of the slum Mahant Hira Giri alleged. During the past three years 82 labourers from Bihar and UP have been killed in five militant strikes in Anantnag, Kupwara and Jammu districts in the state, a Senior Superintendent of Police here said. “We had escaped from Kashmir valley to work for livelihood in the Hindu-dominated Jammu, but here too we are feeling unsafe,” Parmo Devi, who lost her husband in Saturday’s attack, said.
PTI |
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Agricultural policy formulated Srinagar, July 17 Addressing a seminar on the management of cooperative banks and promotion of self-help groups organised by NABARD here yesterday, Agriculture Minister Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan said the policy sought to achieve a higher growth rate for this sector. He said the emphasis would be laid on the development of sustainable agriculture based on the efficient use of natural resources and co-relation of soil, water and bio-diversity. The minister said the policy would focus on issues relating to various agro-climatic zones and find solutions for region-specific problems. The minister said the cooperatives had a vital role in bringing agricultural revolution in the state. Keeping in view the importance of cooperatives in socio-economic development, the present government had made efforts to revive cooperatives in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
PTI |
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Scrap Indus water pact: NC Srinagar, July 17 Moving the resolution, Mr Saifullah Mir (NC) asked the Government to recommend to the Centre to scrap the four-decade-old treaty as it was signed without seeking the opinion of the people in the state and it had affected its economy. In the legislative council, Irrigation Minister Qaummer Ali Akhoon said although the government was not competent to
abrogate or modify the treaty, it would consider the storage of water in the tributaries of the Chenab as provided in the treaty. Under the pact, the Indus and its tributaries had been categorised into Eastern rivers (comprising Satlej, Ravi and Beas) and western rivers comprising Indus, Jehlum and Chenab. According to Article 11 of the treaty, Pakistan had to receive, for unrestricted use, the waters of the western rivers and India was under an obligation to let flow all waters of these rivers without harnessing it.
PTI |
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114 held under POTA in state since Oct 24 Srinagar, July 17 Minister of State for Home
K. N. Suharwardi told Hans Raj Dogra of the BJP in a written reply that 161 cases had been registered under POTA in the state during the period. He said 552 TADA cases were pending before designated TADA courts in the state as on June 10, 2002. Six accused were still in custody while 10,151 persons had been released on bail so far. Eight foreigners were facing charges — two were under POTA and six under TADA — in the state, the minister said.
PTI |
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JKLF: Malik denied
medical help Srinagar, July 17 “Despite recommendation letters from a four-member panel of doctors to shift Malik to a hospital outside the state, the government has not taken any action... It seems that the government wants to kill Malik inside the jail by not giving proper medical treatment to him”, a spokesman of the JKLF alleged. The spokesman claimed that Malik had been passing blood with urine and needed urgent medical attention at a speciality hospital, which was not available in the state.
PTI |
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Govt rapped for not implementing report Srinagar, July 17 “Why the recommendations of the state and the central human rights commissions were not being implemented by the authorities...I direct the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to make a statement on the issue in the House tomorrow after question hour,’’ Mr Vakil said intervening on a question raised by Mr Mir Saifullah of the ruling party. |
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