Jammu, December 13
A meeting convened by Health Minister Sham Lal to review performance of his ministry turned into a battlefield after Congress Minister Shabbir Khan and National Conference MLA Rashpal Singh entered into a verbal duel and levelled serious charges against each other.

Meeting witnessed pandemonium and chaos as both the leaders, who represent assembly segments of Rajouri and Kalakote, respectively, shouted loudly and even publicly threatened to teach a lesson to each other.

Interestingly, when two coalition partners were clashing with each other, it was a PDP MLA who pacified both the “fighting” leaders and saved the situation from worsening further.

Later, Khan, who entered into a verbal duel with the NC MLA, termed the whole episode as a “minor incident”.

“Differences erupted on trivial issues which were later sorted out,” Khan said while admitting that he had entered into heated exchanges with the coalition MLA.

Eyewitnesses said Minister of State for Power Shabbir Khan tried to snub Kalakote MLA Rashpal Singh when the later raised the question of sanction given to the buildings for Indian System of Medicines (ISM) hospitals. The MLA got infuriated due to the action of the minister and asked him not to show him the power.

“I have seen so many ministers like you. I will not allow you to discriminate with my Assembly segment,” the MLA shouted.

The minister also entered into the verbal duel with the MLA and told him that being a minister he has all powers to take important decisions.

“I will not succumb before your pressure tactics,” the minister said. There was total chaos in the meeting.

The Health Minister, who had convened the meeting, was helplessly watching both the coalition partners clashing with each other. Before the situation could have taken an ugly turn, PDP MLA from Darhal Choudhary Zulfikar Ali intervened and pacified the fighting leaders and restored order in the meeting.

During the last three days, this was the second time when this minister and MLA have exchanged heated arguments with each other. On December 10, both of them clashed when review meeting of the District Development Board was held at Rajouri. The MLA alleged that instead of distributing funds equally in all four constituencies of Rajouri district, the minister has been concentrating only on his home constituency. 

Jammu, December 13
The state government is determined to construct the remaining 8 km portion of the controversial Damchuk road in Leh, near China border, even as a controversy continues on yet again buckling by the Indian government under Chinese pressure.

The road construction taken under the NREGA was mysteriously stopped last week with different versions ranging from Chinese objection to weather conditions to non-permission by the Centre being floated around.

Rural Development Minister Ali Mohd Sagar told The Tribune that after the statement made by the Foreign Minister in the Parliament that the state government did not take permission for working close to the border, “we have now sought permission for constructing the road”.

“It is NREGA project and taking permission is just a formality. We are seeking permission now after the work had been stopped at the behest of the Indian Army. Earlier, we were unaware that we need permission from the Centre,” he said. However, the work would be started in March due to harsh winter conditions, he said.

What baffles still is that the first report came that the Chinese Army had got the work stopped. Later, it was said the Indian Army ordered the halt due to objection made by the Chinese Army. However, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah said in Delhi that the work was stopped due to bad weather. Later, the Foreign Minister said the work was stopped as no permission was sought from the Centre. He argued that the state government had to take permission for any construction within 15 km of the border.

Interestingly, sources in the state government said, “NREGA is a central government scheme so work executed under it is funded by the Centre. Under such circumstances, how is it possible that the Centre was not aware of the use of money on a road near the border? Especially when, the state government regularly gives updates to the Centre on use of NREGA money.”

The State Rural Development Minister said the road was vital for linking many villages in that border belt with the rest of the country. “Those residents will have road connectivity by April,” he said.

The road is part of a stretch connecting Ladakh with Tibet, due to which China discourages any construction activity. China ha, however, built roads on their part of the land.

Srinagar, December 13
The CBI is expected to submit its investigation report into the mysterious death of two women in Shopian before a Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court tomorrow.

The Bench headed by Justice Barin Ghosh had given the CBI eight weeks as sought by its counsel in its last hearing on October 13 as he said this time was needed for the agency to come out with its finding, either in part or full depending upon how the probe unfolds.

Media reports quoting CBI sources have said the agency has dismissed the possibility of rape and murder of Nilofar Jan and Asiya Jan, as alleged by their family members. The case has been listed on the top of the cause list.

Meanwhile, the Majlis-e-Mashawarat, a consultative committee formed by locals in Shopian to spearhead their agitation, and some avowed separatist groups today upped the ante against the CBI in anticipation of a report that could dismiss their allegations of rape and murder.

At a discussion, “Shopian: A case of institutional denial”, held here, the Majlis-e-Mashawarat accused the CBI of budging under political pressure and its spokesperson Mohammad Shafi Khan said the committee was determined to take the case to its logical conclusion.

Joined by members of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Khan said they welcomed the probe by the CBI initially, but the agency started to hush up the case.

Khan alleged that the Centre by design handed over the case to the CBI in order to shield the culprits. He demanded that the Shopian incident should be probed by the United Nations so that real culprits were identified. Bar Association’s president Mian Abdul Qayoom said the Shopian incident should be probed by a team of honest lawyers and judges.

The Bar Association, on whose plea that the High Court had started supervising the probe, had withdrawn from the case soon after the state government handed over the probe to the CBI when the police failed to show any result.

Jammu, December 13
Justice Sunil Hali of the J&K High Court has dismissed the writ petition filed by Jawahar Singh and others, holding that though the petitioners may be performing the same functions, their quality and responsibility may vary with those of the inspectors working in the Police Department.

The state government realising the urgency of ensuring protection of forests in the state, particularly taking into consideration that the territorial staff of the Forest Department was not adequate and equipped to deal with the problem of armed smuggling and forest encroachment, took a decision to constitute the Forest Protection Force.

The writ petitioners, after their selection and appointment to the posts of forest inspector, were placed in the pay scale of Rs 1,400-2,300 and projected that their services should have been placed in the grade of Rs 6,500-10,500 as was being granted to the inspectors in the Police Department.

Justice Sunil Hali, while dismissing the writ petition, held that “the doctrine of equal pay is not an abstract doctrine and is capable of being enforced in the court of law, but the equal pay must be for equal work of equal value.

The minimum qualification provided for appointment against the post the petitioners are working is class XII, while in case of inspectors working in the Police Department the qualification prescribed is graduation, and there is also no direct recruitment against the said post of inspector in the Police Department”.

The activities of the petitioners are restricted to the forest alone, while in case of police inspectors, it is both forest as well as other offences under the Penal Code. The Police Department is also required to look after the law and order. Thereby, the responsibilities attached to their job admittedly are more than the petitioners.

Jammu, December 13
Questioning the rationale behind starting the ‘quiet dialogue’ with the separatists to solve the vexed Kashmir problem, the BJP today asked the Centre to make the whole process public.

Senior BJP leader and deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia asked Union Home Minister P Chidambaram not to befool the people on quiet diplomacy and make the entire process public so that the misconceptions and apprehensions aired by different sections of the society could be removed.

“There are apprehensions among people that the quiet diplomacy is favouring only separatist groups and those who have been advocating controversial self-rule and greater autonomy proposals, which need to be clarified,” he sserted.

Kicking off a campaign to make public aware of the ramifications of the quiet dialogue, Ahluwalia made it clear that his party was not against talks with different groups to restore lasting peace in this region.

“Talks should continue but the nation should not be kept in dark about mechanism adopted by the Centre to hold a dialogue with the separatist groups of Kashmir,” he said, demanding that the whole country should be informed about the proposals on which the Centre has initiated talks.

Cautioning the Centre against succumbing before the pressure of separatists and militant groups of the valley, Ahluwalia reminded that whenever the Congress regimes took such steps it had proved disastrous for the whole nation.

“People of Jammu and Ladakh as well as all sections of the society be involved in the dialogue process to make the process more vibrant,” he said, adding that Kashmir problem was not confined only to the valley, people of Jammu and Ladakh were also stakeholders in this issue.

Jammu, December 13
The state government is working on finalising the modalities of “employment melas” after it recently announced the much awaited employment policy in the state.

“The state government is finalising the modalities of employment melas. This is being done on the instructions of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had recently launched the Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY),” Minister for Higher Education, Labour and Employment Abdul Gani Malik told mediapersons here.

Malik said the five-day “employment fair” would be hosted in each district of the state in January and February.

Giving further details on various issues related to the event, the Minister said 28 departments would participate and install stalls in every district during the employment fair lasting for five days. District development commissioners were assured that extra expenditures would be met out of the district plan if the available allocations with the departments concerned did not suffice the requirements.

The dates and the venues regarding the “employment fair” in respective districts were also finalised, he said. All departments, agencies and financial institutions concerned were impressed upon for making the scheme result oriented.

Malik also emphasised for the need of disseminating information to the public and unemployed youth about the employment programme launched by the government recently. Expert counsel to facilitate the employment of educated youth was stressed by the Minister.

The district development commissioners of the Jammu division were also asked to ensure the success of employment fairs in each district so that information of job opportunities outside the government sector would be available to the youths. — PTI

Jammu, December 13
The Jammu State Morcha-Progressive (JSM-P) yesterday alleged that the BJP had sabotaged the cause of Jammu region by forcing the RSS to disassociate from the demand of reorganisation of the state.

Replying to queries in a press conference held here yesterday, morcha president Varinder Gupta recalled that the RSS in its executive committee meeting in 2002 had passed a resolution for the reorganisation of the state. “The RSS had even constituted the Jammu State Morcha - a conglomeration of various pro-Jammu organisations to launch the struggle but BJP leaders had sabotaged the cause due to their petty political gains,” he said, urging all political parties to come forward and support Jammu’s battle against discrimination and injustice.

“Had the BJP allowed the JSM to flourish, the situation would have been entirely different in the Jammu region,” he observed and regretted that just for furthering their personal interests BJP leaders had sabotaged the larger interest of people.

Giving reasons for separate statehood for Jammu, Gupta said, “The reorganisation of the state shall go a long way in solving the Kashmir imbroglio as it will be instrumental in fulfilling the aspirations of all regions and communities of the state”.

He further argued, “Division of the state shall free the people of Jammu and Ladakh from the domination of fundamentalist, communal and secessionist leadership of the Kashmir valley.”

He pointed out that secessionist elements would remain confined within the Kashmir valley.

He said the demand for reorganisation of the state was not communal as being portrayed by the Kashmiri leaders of all hues.

“This demand is purely on regional considerations as the Jammu region has about 30 per cent Muslim population along with a sizeable population of Sikhs and Christians,” he added.

Jammu, December 13
The chairman of the National Panthers Party, Bhim Singh, yesterday accused the Congress-National Conference ruling alliance of deliberately choosing to observe an absolute silence on the Jamaat-e-Islami’s anti-people and anti-social bandh calls in the Kashmir province, which literally amounts to supporting the bandh calls regularly announced by Jamaat leaders in Kashmir to disrupt peace.

In a statement issued here yesterday, the Panthers Party chairman said the Congress and NC leaderships of the Kashmir valley had been providing tactical support to the strike calls given by Ali Shah Geelani. He said support from these two parties left no doubt that Geelani had worked out a clear understanding with the ruling parties to disrupt peace in the valley so that they could continue blackmailing 
the Centre for their gains and personal interests.

He expressed surprise that not a single political party in power had ever made even an appeal to people in the valley about the damage and loss it had been causing to public, including daily labourers, shopkeepers, traders, and educational institutions, effects of which were experienced by the students at the time of appointments made by the Public Service Commission.

He urged Governor NN Vohra to dismiss the state government for allegedly working under the dictates of Jamaat-e-Islami and other anti-national groups.

Jammu, December 13
The police resorted to cane charge to disperse youngsters who had come to witness a show by Jazzy B at a stadium here late last night.

Nearly 20 persons, including three scribes, were injured during the Mega Star Night organised by the VRV Mega Events. The trouble started when the singer was performing and some youngsters started raising slogans against the singer and the organisers for mismanagement and threw empty bottles on the stage. The police then tried to control the situation by resorting to cane charge.

In a few minutes, the road leading to the stadium and flyover turned into a battleground. Policemen resorted to cane charge and lobbed teargas shells, while protesters started pelting stones, burnt tyres and smashed windscreens of the buses and other vehicles.

A police official said the mob also tried to torch a truck loaded with fodder, but the timely intervention of the policemen and firemen averted the incident. There were about 3,000 persons, including children and women, inside the stadium.

Even three mediapersons were also injured and admitted to the hospital. Some eyewitnesses pointed out that some policemen were drunk.

“We had purchased two tickets by spending Rs 3,000 and were not even provided chairs. Within a few minutes the show was stopped and it was total wastage of money,” Vivek Gupta said.

“We have registered a case and are trying to find out the hooligans. We rounded up some of them in the night and have released them now. It was the case of total mismanagement by the organisers,” SHO, Nowabad police station, Sajjad Ahmed said, adding that these type of programmes should be banned in future.

“We will take stern action against the violators. In future, there will be no permission to conduct these star events in the city,” SSP Basant Rath said.

Jammu, December 13
An angry mob blocked the Rajouri-Jammu highway for about two hours, after a 13-year-old girl died in a road accident in Muradpur near Rajouri.

The police said the vehicular movement remained suspended completely, after an unidentified tipper crushed the girl, Razia Parveen, when she was crossing the road.

An eyewitness said the tipper driver ran away from the spot after crushing the girl to death.

“A case of causing death due to negligent driving has been registered. We are trying to nab the accused,” said a police official, adding about 100 persons came on the road and blocked the traffic. The highway could only be cleared after the police assured the angry mob of nabbing the accused at the earliest.

Jammu, December 13
An act from the famous Sanskrit play, ‘Abhigyan Shakuntlam’, written by Kalidas was staged by Natrang in its Sunday theatre under the direction of Sumeet Sharma here today.

It was so authentically and impressively designed by Sharma, an SNA Yuva Awardee, that it received instant appreciation.

Director, Natrang, Balwant Thakur praised Sumeet for his continued thrust in the quest of a new dramaturgy of his own and also congratulated the Principal of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Jammu, Prof Vishwamurty Shastri, who has taken the initiative to develop the Sanskrit language and theatre.

The play under the guidance of Dr Satish Kumar and Dr Jai Prakash Narayan has recently won a prestigious title and award in ‘Koumudi Mahotsava’ at New Delhi.

Srinagar, December 13
Broken glasses and burnt tyres were strewn across the streets in Maisuma and groups of youths kept provoking the police, but the city seemed to be limping back to normalcy today.

The weekly flea market was spread across the Law Chowk and Residency Road and large crowd of buyers descended there to do some shopping. Many were just there soaking in the winter sun, which appeared after several days, after keeping indoors as protesters and the police clashed in different neighbourhoods.

Except flea market, shops are largely closed on Sundays but quite a few were open today because of the forced closure and loss of business in the last two days. “You never know about Kashmir. Everything appeared well till the attack on Qureshi sahib a few days back. We apprehend more disturbances in the coming days,” a shopkeeper said.

Things may heat up once Syed Ali Shah Geelani is released from the custody, which is expected anytime, as he is likely to announce fresh protests to keep up pressure on the government. The government is wary of slapping the Public Safety Act, which gives its power to detain people without filing any charges, after the high court quashed the last PSA against him and set him free.

His house-arrest was also revoked after Geelani moved the court, saying the police was not respecting the court verdict of granting him freedom of movement.

Police officials, however, said they were free to take legal action against Geelani again if he made renewed attempts to stir trouble. The octogenarian Islamist leader has already made it clear that he would continue with his protest programmes to force the government to withdraw security forces from the valley, something dismissed contemptuously by authorities.

Sources said there was also a sense of urgency among hardliners led by Geelani to show their mettle in the light of moderate faction’s ‘secret’ talks with the government and their allegation that Geelani’s rhetoric against them was responsible for murderous attack on Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi.