Jammu, November 20
A piquant political controversy has been generated in Jammu and Kashmir, with the ruling Congress leadership publicly whipping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its coalition partner, for demanding introduction of self-rule in the state.

It is virtually all parties versus the PDP on the issue. Not only the Congress but the BJP and National Conference (NC) are also trying to corner the PDP leader, Mufti Sayeed, on the issue.

However, according to the available indications, the central Congress leadership has not so far rejected the proposal of the Mufti that has been discussed in the two roundtable conferences that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, convened. The proposal is now being examined in one of the five working groups set up to find a solution to the Kashmir problem.

The local leadership of the Congress has been accusing the PDP of having borrowed the idea of self-rule from the Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

These parties are also opposed to the autonomy demand of the NC, but only the PDP has become the subject of criticism on its self-rule proposal.

Leaders of various parties have not relished the Centre sending the Mufti as head of the Indian delegation to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The Mufti is reported to have discussed the self-rule idea with a cross-section during his visit abroad.

Interestingly, yesterday's largely attended public meeting here in connection with the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi turned into a rally against the self-rule proposal of the Mufti as most of the senior Congress leaders criticised him for seeking the new dispensation which they described as ”divisive”.

A senior Congressman and union minister, Prof Saifuddin Soz, today said the party should not drag itself into a controversy on the issue but wait and watch the situation.

When pointed out that while the PDP and the NC had drawn the roadmap of self-rule and autonomy, respectively, for the resolution of the Kashmir problem the Congress had failed to produce any such document, Mr Soz said the Congress party firmly believed in promoting the process of dialogue to keep the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh united. The compulsion of the three regions to remain together would itself allow some solution to emerge.

However, while addressing yesterday's public meeting, the PCC chief and Education Minister, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, said the PDP should come out with the parameters of its self-rule proposal.

Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, Health Minister, accused the PDP of trying to mislead the people by raising the slogan of self-rule. The regional parties did not keep in mind the interests of the country as a whole, he said.

Mr Lal Singh, Congress MP, said the PDP coined the slogan only after it relinquished power in the state. Such slogans would disintegrate the state from rest of the country.

He said because of a fractured mandate in the Assembly elections, the Congress had to forge an alliance with the PDP.

Mr Madan Lal Sharma, another MP, said instead of seeking self-rule, the PDP and NC should come out with concrete proposals to eradicate terrorism and unemployment.

Jammu, November 20
After the row over the site for the upgradation of Jammu Medical college was resolved the Government has formed a committee of experts to finalise design of the complex with architects from Lucknow. The committee will look into soil testing of the site which when completed will be examined by a central team of experts.

Official sources said here today the government had selected an area near Narwal, on the outskirts of the city, for constructing a super-speciality hospital but the site was rejected by the central government. Later the state offered the land of the chest diseases hospital which was to be dismantled but owing to protest from doctors and opposition from Health Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma, the government decided to acquire 45 kanals where is sick silk factory, a few furlongs from the Jammu medical college, has been running for the past several decades.

The state government has agreed to pay Rs 22.50 crore for the land. Official sources said the Chief Minister had directed the authorities concerned to complete upgradation programme of Srinagar and Jammu Medical college in 18 months. The sources said each project is to cost Rs 120 crore and the state equity share was to be Rs 40 crore.

According to sources, the upgradation of Jammu Medical college was conceived during the BJP led-NDA government upgradation of Srinagar Medical College was included in the Prime Minister Swasth Suraksha Yojna.

The central government, as per the plan, will spend Rs 200 crore on upgradation of the two medical colleges and out of it Rs 120 crore had been earmarked for equipment to be purchased by the Centre.

Official sources said work on the upgradation plan in Jammu is expected to begin in two months.

Srinagar, November 20
Two militants have been killed in separate encounters in the valley since last night. A militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Mohammad Iqbal Bodha, was killed in an encounter with security forces at Mehmoodabad, Dooru in Anantnag district. Acting on a specific information, troops searched the entire area during wee hours today when they were fired at by the hiding militants, defence spokesman said. In the ensuing exchange of fire the militant was killed. One Chinese pistol, a hand grenade, a mobile phone and ammunitions were recovered from the site of encounter.

The Army gunned down a militant of the Lashkar-e-Toiba at Dewar in the Lolab area of Kupwara district in North Kashmir. Militants opened fire when the troops started searching the suspected hideout on this the troops retaliated, the defence spokesman said.

The militant has been identified as Haji Abdul Rehman. An AK-56 rifle, three magazine, 85 rounds of AK rifle along with a LET diary were recovered from the site of encounter.

Jammu, November 20
The displaced persons from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have formed a united front here to launch a united struggle for their permanent settlement by the Centre and the state government.

According to Prof Virender Gupta, convener of the All-PoK Displaced Persons Front, the umbrella organisation would seek cooperation of all political parties for getting justice for the displaced persons.

He said the front would submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister for solving their problems. He demanded that the displaced persons should be made party to any decision about solution of the Kashmir problem because they were the real sufferers of the dispute.