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Bombay-like Terror Attack Averted
Azad counters BJP’s bias charge
Play on poll awareness
7 killed in bus mishap
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CCI seeks restoration of SMS facility
Repoll held in Mendhar,
Students protest in novel way
Revive peace process, Mufti asks Pak, India
Winter vacation
Disqualify Cong, BSP candidates, says Bhim Singh
Marh Constituency
Militants kill 2 jawans
Campaign ends for 21 seats
Sonia visit reminds people of unkept promises
Choppers for stranded passengers
Mehbooba harps on unemployment
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Bombay-like Terror Attack Averted
Jammu, December 22 The police in two different raids late last night arrested three Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) militants from a hotel in the heart of Jammu city and one Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) chief along with arms and ammunition. Official sources said the three arrested LeT militants were Pakistani nationals and were planning a major terror strike in Jammu. The arrested terrorists had rented a room in Samrat hotel on fake identity and their motive was to do “something big” on December 24 when the state goes for the final phase of the Assembly elections. The HuJI chief identified as Muzaffer Ahmed Illahi Daanger, alias Suhail Daisal, resident of Chingam, Kishtwar, was arrested from near the Jammu railway station. “He is the main accused in the killing of the Commanding Officer Colonel Ajay Verma and four other officers of the GREF and he is also involved in serial bomb blasts in UP,” DIG, Jammu, Kathua range, AQ Manhas said. "The Jammu police has achieved a major success as this ‘dreaded and most wanted’ person is involved in number of killings, loot and other subversive activities in different parts of the state, besides he was instrumental in establishing a vast terror network in different parts of the country.” Manhas said. Rajouri: Meanwhile, according to SOG Rajouri, Satpal, an alleged militant who was arrested by the Rajouri police on Tuesday, had divulged information about the presence of three militants who were arrested from Samrat Hotel. |
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Azad counters BJP’s bias charge
Jammu, December 22 Addressing a press conference here on the last day of the campaign prior to the final phase of the elections, Azad said from implementing the Wazir Commission Report and setting up Financial Commission to development of infrastructure, he left nothing to chance to ensure equitable progress in the three regions of the state. On delimitation, the former CM lashed out at the BJP and said the previous BJP-led NDA government did nothing for delimitation of constituencies when it was in power at the Centre for six years and its alliance partner NC was ruling the state. He said: “The Congress made a sincere effort for delimitation, but could not get it through as it lacked clear majority in the state Assembly.” Azad also flayed the BJP for exploiting the people of Jammu on the Amarnath land row and said he wanted to construct Amarnath Yatri Niwas buildings en route the Amarnath shrine at Udhampur, Batote, Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Baltal etc. He said the long-pending demand of creating more administrative units in the state was fulfilled by implementing the Wazir Commission Report beyond its recommendations. “We formed 8 districts, 12 tehsils, 3 sub-divisions and two Niabats,” he averred. He exhorted the people to vote him back to the power with full majority to fulfil their dreams of development. |
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Play on poll awareness
Jammu, December 22 The play, “Polam-Pol”, is set in the environment of election days and brings to the fore the actives like the distribution of party ticket, hiring of party workers and false promises that are made by politicians to gullible electorate. Though the artists were amateur, they enacted different characters emphatically. The play has been written and directed by a team of the Jan Jagriti Manch, an offshoot of the PSA. PSA president Rahul urged the students to campaign in the rural areas and encourage the common man to question politicians over their policies and programmes during their rallies. “People should remind politicians, especially the candidates who won previous elections, about their previous unkept promises when they come to seek votes. It is the only way to expose inefficient politicians,” Rahul remarked. |
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7 killed in bus mishap
Jammu, December 22 A senior police officer told The Tribune that five passengers were killed on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries at the local Government Medical College (GMC). The bus (JK02S/8449) was on its way to Katra from Amritsar, carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims. The mishap occurred around 1.15 am after the driver seemingly lost control over the vehicle due to dense fog, said the police officer. Five persons — Usha Seth of East Mumbai, Gourav Dhavan and his wife, Ria Dhavan, (both of Lahori Gate, Amritsar), Ram Gopal Gupta of Rajouri and a Sikh passenger--- were killed on the spot while Bashir Ahmed of Anantnag and Simran Kanjooni of Mumbai succumbed to their injuries at the local GMC, he said. The bodies after autopsy have been kept in the Kathua hospital and GMC morgues. Their relatives in Amritsar, Mumbai and Rajouri are being informed, he said, adding efforts were on to establish the identity of the Sikh passenger. Another accident between a motor cycle and a truck at Sallan Kathua resulted into the death of driver Anku Verma of Vijaypur and his pillion rider. |
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CCI seeks restoration of SMS facility
Jammu, December 22 The CCI said the ban on the SMS facility had taken a heavy toll on business activities. It said the state government had imposed the ban on the service apprehending the spread of rumours and vicious propaganda during the Amarnath land agitation. But now as the situation had returned to normal, there was no justification in continuing the ban. The CCI also pointed out that all mobile service providers were charging the subscribers for the SMS facility even during the period of ban. “These service providers being commercial establishments must adhere to the ethics of business and refund the amount, thus, charged during the ban period,” it said. |
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Repoll held in
Mendhar, Ramban
Rajouri, December 22 The election authorities said whereas 664 voters of the 700 registered electorate cast their votes in the Khotaan polling station, in the Gursai D polling station 790 of the total 1,100 voters cast their votes. The re-polling, which was slow in the morning due to chill, picked up later and remained peaceful. Jammu: About 68.6 per cent voting was registered today during re-poll at a polling station in Sumber village of Banihal tehsil in Ramban district of the state, officials said. A total of 656 votes out of 956 were polled at the polling station No. 74 in the village, they said. — PTI |
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Students protest in novel way
Jammu, December 22 On the eighth consecutive day of the agitation, the protesting students took off their shirts and staged a demonstration at the main gate of the Jammu University (JU). The protesters raised slogans against the vice-chancellor and the government authorities concerned for being “indifferent” towards their demand. The JU main gate remained locked for nearly three hours and the protesters were denied entry into the campus. Though a strong police contingent was present at the protest site, it chose not to meddle with the demonstrators, who disrupted traffic between Vikram Chowk and Panama Chowk for some time. State secretary of the ABVP Suresh Magotra said several government degree colleges across the region had supported the agitation. “Students of government degree colleges in Sunder Bani, Samba, RS Pura, Prade, Gandhi Ngar, GGM Science College, SPMR College for Commerce and MAM College boycotted classes as a mark of protest,” Magotra said. “By ignoring the demand for the open choice, the JU administration is further wasting the precious time of students,” said Magotra, asking the JU administration and the government authorities to clear their stand on the issue. Alleging that the JU administration and the government are adamant, Magotra said the agitation would continue till the administration fulfilled the students’ demand. He also appealed to chancellor of the university N.N. Vohra for his intervention in the issue. |
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Revive peace process, Mufti asks Pak, India
Srinagar, December 22 Addressing election rallies here today, PDP patron Mufti Sayeed said the leadership of India and Pakistan should exercise restraint and show maturity in handling the current crisis, as had been displayed during the last six decades. “Whether it was the attack on Parliament or the Kargil conflict, it is only restraint and patience that can get the South Asian region out of its problems and remove distress between nations and communities”, he said. The PDP patron said it was time that the people of the sub-continent and their leaders take inspiration from the people of Kashmir who had transformed their struggle over justice, fair play and self-respect into a purely democratic and peaceful exercise.“Kashmir has been at the receiving end of the hostility between India and Pakistan and therefore it will always be to our disadvantage to allow the revival of the cold war”, he said.
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Disqualify Cong, BSP candidates, says Bhim Singh
Jammu, December 22 In a press statement, Prof Bhim Singh said they should be disqualified for the violation of the model code of conduct and indulging in corrupt practices”. He alleged that the Congress was using an official audio-visual footage of the Information Department in its advertisements for electioneering being shown on local TV channels regularly. “This amounts to a corrupt practice and misuse of official machinery in violation of the code.” He further said on the other hand Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati had got published her full page advertisements in newspapers regarding launching of a project in Varanasi, which had nothing to do with Jammu and had been got published “only to influence the electorate” in Jammu. |
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Marh Constituency
Marh, December 22 Though Sadhotra had won the 1996 and 2002 elections defeating Choudhary Sukhnandan, the latter may turn the tables on the former this time . The constituency having 67,805 electors will go to the polls on December 24. However, the Congress has been put in the dock as the division of votes may impact its prospects. The party has fielded Dharampal Sharma forcing Thakur Balwan Singh to quit the party and take a plunge as an independent. Singh had lost twice in the 1996 and 2002 elections while Sharma, who hails from Akhnoor, had been elected as the MLA on four occasions and remained a member of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. A senior Congress leader said the party high command decided to give the mandate to Sharma from Marh that annoyed Balwan Singh , who had now been contesting as an Independent. However, he maintained that there would be no division of Congress votes because of “resentment among the people against Singh”. Sharma has been given the mandate for the simple reason that the constituency has a sizeable number of Brahmin voters and Thakur Balwan Singh had lost from the constituency twice. The constituency will witness a tough triangular contest between the Congress, BJP and the NC, he claimed. Though the senior Congress leader defended party high command’s decision yet the people here, particularly of Rajput community consider Sharma as an outsider. “No doubt the constituency has a sizeable number of Brahmin voters but Singh also enjoys faith of the people to a considerable extent,” said Vinod Singh, a resident. I don’t think that Brahmin votes alone could ensure victory of a candidate, he added. Even though the BSP and the Panthers Party too have fielded expelled NC leader Jagjeet Singh Jagga and first-timer Anita Thakur, respectively, they hold little sway in the backdrop of what is being seen as the clash of titans between Sadhotra and Choudhary Sukhnandan, he added. Mohan Lal, a voter from the weaker sections of society, also felt that a straight contest between Sadhotra and Sukhnandan looked imminent. He attributed his logic to the fact that the BSP had ignored old-time loyalist Ashok Kumar Bhagat and gave party ticket to Jagga. Bhagat had the backing of nearly 15,000 voters from weaker sections and his joining the NC had certainly strengthened Sadhotra’s prospects”, he added. |
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Militants kill 2 jawans
Srinagar, December 22 The shootout, the first major militant strike on security personnel since polling began on November 17, has put them on a high alert ahead of the seventh and last phase of polling in Srinagar and Jammu. The arrest of some top militants in Jammu coupled with these killings have heightened concern that militants are desperate to carry out something big, a top official said. "We have been receiving inputs about their increased activity during the election process to disrupt polls and scare away voters and candidates," a spokesperson for the BSF, which has deployed 55 companies in highly sensitive constituencies of Hazaratbal and Batmaloo, said. The security forces have launched a major cordon-and-search operation in Sopore, once a militant hub. Meanwhile, life came to a standstill in downtown areas, the scene of anti-election protests yesterday, with the security forces tightening measures to keep the volatile township quiet. People remained indoors in the Nowhatta, Khanyar and Safakadal areas. "Many streets are barricaded to stop anti-election mobs from coming on the roads," Mian Ashraf, a resident of Khanyar, said. Speculation was rife that the authorities have imposed a curfew but Srinagar deputy commissioner Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo refuted it. "We have stepped up vigil due to the impending poll . But there is no restriction on movement," he said. |
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Campaign ends for 21 seats
Jammu, December 22 Vying for power in the border state are the key regional parties — NC and the PDP-- as also the national parties — the Congress and the BJP. While the NC and the PDP have high stakes in the Kashmir valley, the Congress and the BJP are slugging it out in the Jammu region. The Congress, though, also has some hold in certain pockets of the Kashmir valley. Even as the NC is hoping to stage a comeback to power on its own after a hiatus of six years, its arch rival, PDP, despite initial opposition to polls apparently due to the flak it drew after the Amarnath land row, now seems confident of holding on to its votebank and tide over anti-incumbency. Interestingly, while the NC says that the elections are only for the redressal of the people’s day-to-day problems, the PDP feels that the elections cannot be seen in isolation of the need for resolution of the Kashmir issue. The NC is banking upon the anti-incumbency factor and also the “dubious role” of the Congress-PDP coalition in the Amarnath land row to regain its lost ground in the valley. The PDP is seeking votes on the plank of peace and development. On the Kashmir issue, while the PDP came out with a ‘self-rule document’, presenting its roadmap for resolution of the vexed issue, the NC released its ‘Vision Document’ which talks of greater autonomy. Both parties are also stressing on the need for better Indo-Pak ties, particularly in light of the precarious situation prevailing after the Mumbai terror attacks. Among the national parties, the BJP is riding high on the success of the Amarnath land agitation and hopes to make major gains in the electoral arena. The party is also raking up the issue of “discrimination against Jammu”, delimitation, and the UPA government’s “soft approach” on terror to garner support. The Congress, on the other hand, is playing the development card and seeking mandate on the achievements of the previous Azad government. Though it seems that the party’s poll prospects may not be affected much due to the Amarnath issue, the rebel factor is likely to play a spoilsport. An electorate of 16,91,797, including 18,214 service electors, would decide the fate of 393 candidates in the fray. Jammu West has the distinction of having the highest number of 34 contestants in the fray. There are 31 women contestants and 151 Independents in this phase of elections. Among the 31 women contestants, 12 are in the fray in Srinagar, two in Samba and 17 in Jammu district. The number of women contestants this time is the highest as compared to the earlier six phases. Key players in fray
Among the key contestants testing their luck in the last phase are NC patron Farooq Abdullah (Hazratbal and Sonawar), state BJP president Ashok Khajuria (Jammu East), former Deputy CM Mangat Ram Sharma (Jammu West), former union minister Chaman Lal Gupta (Jammu West), and Panthers Party supremo Bhim Singh (Jammu East). |
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Sonia visit reminds people of unkept promises
UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s whirlwind election tour of the Jammu region has caused trouble for the party candidates rather than rendering help in consolidating their votes. As her tour coincided with the mounting tension between India and Pakistan, residents in the border belt are recalling the unfulfilled elections promises made by the Congress in the 2002 elections.
Political rivals of the Congress too have pulled out the 2002 election manifesto of the Congress, wherein it had promised five marla residential plots at safe places to all families living along the border. Sonia Gandhi had elicited a lot of support for local Congress candidates six years ago by making this promise, which the party conveniently forgot after the elections. During the last 60 years, people living in border villages led lives of refugees, shifting to safer places, each time there was hostility with Pakistan. “In 1965, 1971, Kargil and frequently during heavy shelling, we lived in school buildings, tented accommodation or with relatives away from our villages for safety. Many people voted for the Congress last time as it had promised to give us plots in safe areas”, said Rakesh Chaudhary, who runs a transport business at RS Pura, while talking to The Tribune. At Korotana Khurd, the last village on the India-Pakistan border in Suchet Garh sector, Karan Chaudhary, a student, said, “Sonia Gandhi had herself promised five marla plots to all residents, which the people had forgotten with time, but with her repeating the same promise this time people are reminded of the past, exposing the Congress for making hollow promises”. This one single factor is doing a lot of harm to the prospects of the Congress candidates, especially in the eight border Assembly segments of the Jammu region. On the other hand, BJP’s Navjot Sidhu, who is camping here, is drawing unprecedented crowds to his election rallies. It is felt that Sidhu will be able to convert the crowds at his rallies into votes for his party, especially in view of the new controversy over “failed promises” of the Congress. People living in the Samba sector spent several months under tin sheds built for the State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) at Samba city during the Kargil war. Similarly people from the Chhamb Assembly segment were lodged in tents that still stand witness to their plight in Akhnoor city during the same time, while those from the Arnia area on the Jammu border were housed in Higher Secondary School, Bishnan. The memory of Kargil is still fresh in most minds. After Sonia Gandhi’s visit, the resentment over the Congress’ failure to fulfil its election promises has increased and is very palpable in areas like Landi, Sherpur and Korotana Kalan and Khurd. |
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Choppers for stranded passengers
Srinagar, December 22 An official spokesman said a helicopter service would operate between Bandipora to Dawar, Kunglun and Neeru, near the Line of Control (LoC), which had been cut off from the rest of the state due to heavy snowfall at Razdan Pass. Stranded passengers were directed to reach at the Army helipad at Sathu Nurwani at 8 am tomorrow. — UNI |
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Mehbooba harps on unemployment
Srinagar, December 22 While addressing rallies in Hazratbal, where the NC patron and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is contesting, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the youth of Srinagar would now get justice as she would herself champion their cause. She said a new generation of young men and women in Jammu and Kashmir were looking forward to a peaceful and productive future and they should be given the liberty to have it. “For years, youth of Kashmir have been denied the freedom to dream, aspire and make a full and happy life for themselves”, she said and added that they must now enjoy the fruits of peace and prosperity. On the other hand, NC president Omar Abdullah blamed the PDP for the neglect of Srinagar city during the past six years. He said the PDP out of political vendetta held a grudge against the people of Srinagar and had made them suffer. Omar said they were so vindictive against Srinagar and its residents that they ignored them even in matters of employment and development.
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Srinagar, December 22
