Jammu, July 7
The unrest prevailing in the Jammu region over the Amarnath land transfer issue claimed its first casualties with the death of two protesters here last night. However, the day was by and large peaceful.

The first victim was Manjeet, a BJP activist critically hurt in a blast at Bhaderwah during protests last week, who succumbed to his injuries at Government Medical College and Hospital here.

The second victim has been identified as Ramesh Chander, a resident of Pir Mitha locality, who died around midnight after sustaining severe injuries during the protest late last evening.

Ramesh reportedly jumped from a three-storey building to “escape the ire” of the cops who were chasing the protesters at Pir Mitha.

Following his death, the protesters from the locality staged a protest demonstration outside the Chief Minister's residence and later in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in the morning.

Pir Mitha SHO Shaukat Ahmed has been placed under suspension for his alleged role in the incident and an inquiry has also been ordered into it.

Divisional commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey announced a special compensation of Rs 2 lakh for Ramesh's family, a government job for his widow, free education for his children, and disability pension for his visually impaired kid.

On the other hand, the body of Manjeet was shifted to Bhaderwah in the wee hours today so as to avoid any untoward incident in the tense township.

However, his family members resented the administration's move to shift his body without taking them into confidence.

Meanwhile, the day was comparatively peaceful in the city except for stray incidents of protest in Muthi and Gangyal areas. The situation also eased to some extent after the fall of the state government.

Curfew was relaxed in the winter capital in the evening. It was relaxed between 5 pm to 7 pm in southern parts, while the relaxation was 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm in northern parts of the city.

In Kathua, curfew was relaxed from 11 am to 2 pm and again from 5 pm to 7 pm. In Samba, curfew was relaxed from 8 am to 10 am and again from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Jammu, July 7
Following three weeks of unrest in the state, the Amarnath land row finally led to the fall of the Ghulam Nabi Azad government.

The controversy, which started with land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for providing facilities to pilgrims at Baltal, has also altered the political scenario in a big way ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the state.

Political observers here feel that the Congress has emerged as the biggest loser in the entire episode. Prof Rekha Chaudhary, former HoD, department of political science, Jammu University, said, "The controversy has taken a heavy toll on the Congress, while the BJP has emerged as a major gainer out of it." She opined that the PDP would also suffer losses in the valley, as it has lost credibility.

"People in the valley knew that the PDP's ministers were also a party to the decision to divert land to the shrine board," she added. The National Conference, she said, would be the least damaged political outfit in this controversy.

"It will indirectly be a gainer," she added. When asked whether the Congress would have gained had Azad resigned earlier, she said the party would not have benefited from his resignation at any point of time. The Congress has a lion's share of its votebank in the Jammu region.

It had 14 MLAs out of its total strength of 22 in the state Assembly. However, it would now be difficult for the party to retain 14 seats in the region.

On the contrary, the BJP, which had only one MLA in the state Assembly, is now eyeing to cross two-digit mark in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Also what is working to the BJP's advantage is the fact that it is the only political outfit participating in the land row stir, which has got a huge public support here.

Jammu, July 7
Though Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed he relinquished the post of chief minister to keep at bay horse-trading so as to honour anti-defection law, yet by and large Jammuites felt the Congress had no option than to quit office in the wake of land row and simmering resentment of people against the party preventing other legislators from Jammu to 'help' Azad.

If majority of the people in the city accused the Congress of betraying them, there were a few others, who held the People's Democratic Party (PDP) responsible for the present political and law and order crisis. Azad this morning decided to quit his office rather than putting his motion of confidence to vote in the state assembly.

Talking to The Tribune, doctor Abhay Gupta, said, "After the PDP played its card flaring up the situation in valley, Congress leaders had never thought in their wildest dreams that Amarnath land transfer row would take the shape of a movement in Jammu."

By rescinding the order Congress ministers invited the wrath of people across Jammu, who say that they felt cheated, he added.

Echoing similar views lawyer Rajeshwar Singh, however, held the PDP responsible for the mayhem in the state.

But at the same time Singh said the Congress should not have rushed through things rescinding the order in haste without thinking about its ramifications in Jammu.

Muneer Hussain, a government servant, said, "After people initiated a crusade against the Congress and had warned legislators of other political parties to refrain from supporting Azad during his floor test, the party was in all sorts of problems."

"I personally feel that the Congress in the coming assembly polls might sustain a major setback in Jammu, considered to be its traditional stronghold," he added.

Sources in the Congress admitted that the party had not anticipated about such a backlash of government's decision in Jammu.

Jammu, June 7
The resignation of Ghulam Nabi Azad, state's first Chief Minister from Jammu region, has been lamented by people from different walks of life in hometown Bhaderwah.

Talking to The Tribune, Zakir, a teacher by profession, termed it a sad moment for the people and said Azad had worked a lot for the development of the state.

Advocate Abdul Wahid dubbed it as a wise move to calm the prevailing situation and maintain the communal amity in the state.

Naresh Kumar, a lawyer, said, "People are all praise for him here. It has come as a setback for those who wished for a better future for the state. He was working hard for the state's prosperity, but some vested interests didn't let him continue."

As the curfew has been clamped in the township, people are expressing their feelings on his resignation through SMS.

One such SMS reads: "It is very unfortunate that Mufti has cheated Azad. Kashmiris never wanted a non-Kashmiri CM. We should launch anti-Mufti agitations. We should forget party politics and jointly support Azad who had supported the people of Doda district to develop the area."

Udhampur, July 7
A large number of people, carrying the body of Manjit Singh who had received severe injuries when some miscreants lobbed a grenade on a procession of some Hindu organisations on July 2 at Bhaderwah, staged a dharna on the Doda-Kishtwar road and blocked the highway this afternoon.

Demanding the arrest of those whose names have been listed in the report lodged at the Bhaderwah police station, the infuriated people refused to cremate the victim.

Manjit Singh, along with six other injured, were air-lifted to Government Medical College Hospital Jammu, where he succumbed to his injuries on late Sunday night.

Although senior police and civil officers rushed to the spot to pacify the agitated people, the latter were adamant on their demand. They demanded that the copy of the FIR should be shown to their leaders before cremation.

Chuni Lal, father of Manjit Singh, told The Tribune on telephone that the authorities were trying to shield the real culprits. Some eye-witnesses have given vital information to the police, but the authorities were hesitating to take action against the influential persons, he alleged.

He said that they would not perform the last rites of his son unless their demands were accepted. He further alleged that the police, without their consent, shifted the body from the GMC Jammu and kept them in dark for the whole night.

"Instead of taking family members into confidence, cops themselves shifted the body to Doda," he said, demanding a probe into the whole episode to ascertain how the body was shifted without the consent of family members.

Earlier, tension mounted in the Shiva area of Doda when the body reached there. As parents and other family members, who were at Jammu were not accompanying the body, the relatives refused to perform the last rites.

Accompanied by BJP leaders, Dr Nirmal Singh, Bali Bhagat, Jyotiparkash, Pawan Khajuria and Koushal Kotwal, parents of Majit Singh reached Shiva village at 4.30 pm. Instead of performing the last rites, they took the body towards the national highway and blocked the road.

Although the administration had restricted the movement of traffic in this area to stop BJP workers from reaching there, a large number of them reached the spot and joined the protest, which was going on till the filing of this report.

Meanwhile, curfew continued in Bhaderwah town without any relaxation. Following the death of one of the injured, the authorities deployed additional forces in sensitive areas.

Srinagar, July 7
Jammu and Kashmir caretaker Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today declared that the Congress would go alone in the Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.

“We will not have an alliance anymore with any political party,” Azad announced at the Congress headquarters here this afternoon. He said the Congress would come to power without the support or alliance with any party.

Without naming Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Azad said both parties had agreed to rule the state three years each.

But, he alleged, after completing their three-year term, they (PDP) started criticising “our government and issued ultimatums.”

He said the Congress would have never entered into an alliance with any party had it known that it would be deceived. “Now we have learnt a lesson and will not enter into an alliance with any party,” he said.

Azad said the Congress was a very strong party and would form a new government without the support from any party. Without naming the PDP or the Congress, he said the members of these parties were now sitting in same benches.

They were not happy with functioning of my government as it utilised funds received from the Centre for the development works, which are visible on the ground.

Union Minister of Water Resources and State Congress president Prof Saifuddin Soz also addressed the workers. — UNI

Pursuit of narrow political gains at the cost of larger interest of the state and its people, by certain political groups resulted in constitutional and political crisis, Tarigami added.

Peace could not be restored be it Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Sayeed or Azad, unless a final and everlasting solution to Kashmir was found, he said in a statement.

He added that it was not an administrative issue but an issue related to the future of 1.25 crore population of the entire Jammu and Kashmir.

Srinagar, July 7
Militants hurled a grenade at a CRPF camp located near the Assembly today which left one jawan injured.

CRPF sources said some unidentified militants targeted the base camp of 23 battalion and threw the explosive near the DIG (operations) office in Karan Nagar.

The grenade exploded and injured constable Mohd Ali, they said. He has been
admitted to hospital where his condition is stable. The police has termed his
injuries as minor.

The incident occurred at around 9.45 am and not very far from the Assembly where law-makers were meeting for the floor test of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. No organisation has taken responsibility for the attack so far.

Rajouri, July 7
Suffering huge losses due to the BJP's agitation over the land transfer issue, traders and shop-owners today defied the party's orders, after the Azad-led coalition bowed out of power, by opening their business establishments here in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

After news channels flashed that Azad-led coalition government had fallen, traders and shopkeepers found it the right opportunity to defy the diktat of the BJP, which has already called for continuing the agitation, and opened the business establishments and shops.

Traders and shop-owners of a particular community have been suffering heavy losses in this peak season of business activity due to the ongoing agitation.

"A fuel pump owned by a local BJP leader remained open even as party activists tried their every effort, even violence, to forcibly close down our business establishments. This clearly speaks of the double standards of the BJP. On the one hand, they make poor traders and shopkeepers to suffer, while on the other hand they themselves they don't allow their political agenda to hit their livelihood," said Jyoti Prakash, a resident of the old city area here and a businessman.

"Even if the government had survived, we were planning to open our business establishments. There is politics involved in the agitation and it (BJP) has nothing to do with the religious interests of a religious community."

Reports from Nowshera and Sunderbani in this border district said that immediately after the word about the fall of the Azad-led government spread, traders and shopkeepers opened their business establishments.

Jammu, July 7
Kashmiri Pandits have come to the forefront on the Amarnath land transfer issue in many pockets of the city to vent their anger against the government.

Members of the displaced Kashmiri community, including women, have been staging protests in areas like Muthi, Nagrota, Ban Talab, Talab Tillo, Purkhu, Mishriwala and Bohri for the last four days.

While some of them are lodging their protest under the banner of various Kashmiri Pandit outfits, others are joining them voluntarily to express their resentment against the state government move.

Upinder Kaul, general secretary of the Panun Kashmir Movement, said, “People from the community are turning up to protest in large numbers as they feel what had happened to them 20 years back, has now happened to entire Hindu community.”

“The way Amarnath pilgrims were beaten up in Banihal and were forced to flee, the same treatment was meted out to our community in 1990s,” he said.

He said the row had also exposed the political leaders of Kashmir. “On the one hand, they say we will welcome displaced Kashmiri Pandits with open arms and on the other they could not give us a piece of land for Amarnath yatra,” he added.

Kaul also felt that the issue had also provided an outlet to their anger that was growing inside them for long.

“They are expressing their anguish by taking to the streets and staging protests,” he said.

A.K. Diwani, working president of the J&K National Democratic Front, a political outfit of the displaced Kashmiri community, said, “The Kashmiris living here are the real sufferers, as they are away from their native land for about two decades. Also they feel that Kashmir is now going out of their hands.”

He said there was a lot of anger among the community members, particularly youth. “I requested them to calm down, but they are not ready to listen anything.”

He also opined that with this issue all efforts made by the government to ensure the return of displaced Kashmiris to the valley have gone waist.

Referring to Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's recent meeting with Amarnath pilgrims, he said it has brought to fore his double standards.

“If at all he wants to exhibit his secular credentials he should come to Jammu and invite Kashmiri Pandits for settling down in the valley,” he added.

Jammu, July 7
Even as the outfits spearheading the agitation over the Amarnath land row are upbeat after the fall of the Ghulam Nabi Azad government, they seem to be in no mood to let down their guard until the land is restored to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

However, they might change their strategy soon in view of the hardships being faced by the common man due to continuous bandh, which started on June 30.

All government and commercial establishments remained closed in the city for the eighth day today following the bandh call given by the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella organisation spearheading the agitation, and supported by the BJP.

However, with the continued bandh and curfew throwing normal life completely out of gear, the business community and common people now  appear restless.

“Our hotel rooms would always be occupied, but the bandh has hit our business hard. Today we have nil occupancy. Politicians have ignited the fire, but now nobody is coming forward to douse its raging flames,” said G.L. Sharma, manager of Diamond Hotel at Gumat.

“The bandh has come at a time when inflow of cash is good and people make purchases,” said P.P. Singh, a shop owner. “Even a two-day bandh is alright, but this is getting too long. We are struggling for our daily need of milk and vegetables,” said Sham Lal, a resident of Trikuta Nagar.

Samiti president Leela Karan Sharma said, “We are aware of the problems of the business community and common public. We will soon decide as to in what form our agitation will be continued.”

“However, the stir will go on until we achieve our goal i.e. restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board,” Sharma added.

On the other hand, the BJP too is fully supporting the decisions taken by the
Samiti. State BJP vice-president Prof Hari Om also hinted at the possible change
in mode of agitation.

“We are reviewing the situation from time to time and are also taking into account the people's problems. We are a part of the samiti and will go with whatever decision it takes tomorrow,” he added.

Jammu, July 7
The Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation over the Amarnath land row, today said elections were the only way to “teach a lesson” to the Congress.

Addressing a press conference here recently, samiti spokesperson Tilak Raj Sharma and chief organiser Dinesh Khanna said the agitation would continue.

Replying to a query, Sharma said the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state would provide an opportunity to the people of Jammu to teach a lesson to those who revoked land transfer.

The samiti members also thanked the Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist Movement whose provincial president Sheikh Mohammad Bashir in a written statement extended his party’s support to the agitation against the government decision.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Hindu United Front also organised a meeting today
and appealed to all the Hindu organisations to strengthen the agitation under a
common banner.

Congress leader Vinod Sharma and NC councillor Rashida Begum participated in the meeting and lent support to the agitation.

Front president Rajesh Gupta said the agitation was for a genuine cause and residents of Jammu should fight it.

Jammu, July 7
Various regional political parties and social organisations in Jammu have pledged their support to the Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti and have decided to follow all the samiti programmes of agitation till the government returns the land back to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Addressing a press conference, leaders of various regional political parties demanded a separate statehood for Jammu.

“We believe that the ultimate solution of the miseries and problems of the people of the Jammu region lie in a full-fledged statehood and the people should prepare themselves for ultimate war to end political, economic and developmental exploitation once and all,” said Uday Chand, president of the Duggar Pradesh Party.

They said it had become difficult for the people of the region to continue with Kashmir under prevailing dangerous communal atmosphere and continuous discrimination on all affairs by the Central and state governments.

The leaders pledged that they would launch a wave in the state to get separate statehood status for the Jammu region.