Jammu, August 5
The ensuing organisational election in the Jamait-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir has assumed significance as the choice of the council of representatives, the electoral college for electing the Amir, will determine whether the hardliners, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, stand sidelined or not.

The election for the post of Amir and other office-bearers is to be completed on August 9 and 10. A Jamait-e-Islami spokesman told this correspondent today that on August 9 and 10, 126 recently elected representatives would sit in Srinagar and decide whether the choice for Amir's post would be through a consensus or secret ballot system. He said:"We do not set a panel of names for the post of Amir.We leave it to the representatives to vote for any senior leader."

Inside reports said moderate leaders were engaged in ensuring that no close associate of Mr Geelani found support from the council of representatives for the post of Amir.No doubt, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and three of his close associates, including Mohd.Ashraf Sehrai,were not in the race for the post after they were suspended from the organisation five months ago and 14 of his followers had been expelled last month,the moderates were not ignorant of the clout the Geelani camp had in the Jamait-e-Islami.

As such the moderates were busy in formulating a strategy for ensuring that Geelani and his supporters were sidelined from the organisation.

The spokesman explained that Geelani and three of his associates had been suspended from the organisation on charge of violating the Jamaat constitution.

At present four senior Jamaat leaders, Mr Nazir AhmedKashani, present Amir G.M.Bhat,former Amir Sheikh Ghulam Hassan and Sonaullah Mir, figure in the panel for the post of Amir.

However, the spokesman explained: "We do not thrust any name. It is for the representatives to cast their votes in favour of any candidate they deem fit."

Meanwhile, the recently concluded election of representatives from various districts of the state indicates that the Jamait-e-Islami is well-entrenched in the Kashmir valley when compared to the Jammu region.Out of 126 recently elected representatives, 16 belong to the Jammu region,one from Jammu-Udhampur belt,15 from Doda-Kishtwar zone.

Jammu, August 5
With the arrest of a couple of officers of the Consumer Affairs Department in connection with the multi-crore rupee kerosene scam and also exposure of another alleged scandal of diverting wheat for grinding to a blue eyed boy of a minister, skeletons have started popping out of the cupboard of the bigwigs of department.

Serious scandals of misuse of grain issued by the Centre for the purpose of being supplied to those living below the poverty line (BPL) and other schemes have been coming to light one after the other, but unfortunately the state government has so far failed to take action against the officials involved.

Several senior officers allegedly involved in a Rs.300 crore scam in the JAKFED have been promoted and given prime postings.

The recent scam in which an officer of the department was accused of issuing fake allotment slips for 10 lakh litres of kerosene to three traders is being considered just the tip of an iceberg.

The issue of hundreds of fake kerosene dealers having been appointed in the state has rocked the legislature in almost all its sessions, but things have gone from bad to worse as many officers of the department were alleged to be hand in glove with the unscrupulous elements. The kerosene meant to be issued to genuine consumers on subsidised rates was reportedly being sold in bulk to transporters and black-marketeers. The kerosene ration shops are mostly locked as the supplies are siphoned to big sharks.

In another case, some flour mill owners of Jammu have complained that the officers of the department were diverting most of the wheat for grinding to a mill owner who is considered a blue eyed boy of a minister. The particular mill owner reportedly has four grinding mills.

The figures released by the aggrieved flour mill owners indicate that out of the 7,06,698 quintals of wheat that the department got ground between April 2005 and March 2006, 3,11,852 quintals was diverted to one particular mill owner, while 10 other mills shared the remaining quantity of 3,98,846 quintals.

The aggrieved mill owners claim that besides other losses, the state government was suffering an annual loss of Rs 1.42 crore for transporting wheat to Udhampur based flour mills of the particular owner.

The CBI has started investigating a case of as many as 86 grain laden trucks having gone missing while on their way here from the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at Gurdaspur.

This is not for the first time that the trucks carrying grain have gone missing. More than 100 truckloads of grain never reached its destination in various parts of the Jammu division a few years ago.

A thorough enquiry into the functioning of the Consumer Affairs Department and the J&K unit of the FCI might expose major scandals involving misuse of ration that were meant for the poor.