Jammu, March 18
A debate on the functioning of private schools generated heat in the Assembly today as members, cutting across party lines, demanded that strict measures should be taken by the government to stop these institutions from charging huge fees and donations from people.

Following the noisy scenes,Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed announced that the government would formulate new rules to monitor the functioning of private schools. The Law Department would be involved to formulate new rules.

“As far as the fee structure is concerned, we have decided to involve parents of children of all private schools in fixing fees,” the minister announced and further added that it would be mandatory for all public schools to give 20 to 25 per cent admissions to the students belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Earlier, while initiating the debate on the issue, PDP member Rafi Ahmed Mir expressed concern over neglect of backward areas by the private schools. Mir’s point was endorsed by NC MLA Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, who observed that these institutions have been looting the people in the name of donations and fees.

“The fees of some of the private schools are higher than even those of the IITs,” he said, and asked the government to take some measures to stop this loot.

CPM member Mohammad Yosuf Tarigami, while demanding a check on these institutions, pointed towards meagre salaries being paid to the teachers of private schools. “These institutions have been exploiting unemployed youth by paying them meagre salaries,” he said.

Most of the MLAs expressed concern over the fee structures of the schools. PDP members Abdul Haq, Nizam ud Din Bhat and NC member Nazir Gurezi demanded that it should be made mandatory for the private sector to open schools in the backward areas.

The minister, however, said private agencies did not prefer to open schools in the economically backward and far-flung areas where people did not afford to pay tuition fee and donations for private schools.

Jammu, March 18
Leader of the Opposition Mehbooba Mufti today launched a personal attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and alleged that his actions were like those of a block-level leader or a police constable.

“Our Chief Minister is behaving like a constable who terrorises people of his locality by his power,” Mehbooba remarked this while initiating a debate on grants of the Home Ministry in the Assembly. As the Chief Minister also holds the Home Department, Mehbooba started personal attack on him and charged him with acting in a vindictive manner in releasing development funds.

“It is unfortunate that our Chief Minister is not behaving like the head of the government. Instead of treating all regions equally, he has been discriminating with the constituencies represented by the opposition,” she said, adding that the actions of the Chief Minister during the district development board meetings of Anantnag, Shopian and Pulwama districts was an indication of this vindictive attitude.

The PDP chief said: “The present government headed by the NC lacks vision as well as road map.” “Instead of carving out a path of development and growth, this government has been working on the road map prepared by the previous PDP-Congress regime,” she said, adding that this government was hesitating to accept this hard reality.

“What to say of appreciating road map prepared by the previous PDP-Congress regime, the present dispensation has been brazenly trying to take credits of the projects started by its predecessors, be it the construction of the Mughal Road and setting up of Baba Ghulam Shah Badhshah University at Rajouri,” she said.

She said the incidents of human rights violation had been increased after the formation of the NC-led government in the state. She charged the government of adopting oppressive measures to stifle the voice of people.

Meanwhile, noisy scenes and uproar marred the proceedings of the Assembly today when the BJP and Panthers Party and the JSM protested over lathi-charge on lawyers by the police. Led by BJP leader Chaman Lal Gupta, members of the BJP, Panthers and the JSM stood up from their benches and demanded explanation from the government over the “brutal” cane-charge on the lawyers yesterday, who were protesting against the introduction of the Women Permanent Resident Disqualification Bill in the Legislative Council. 

Srinagar, March 18
Relatives and neighbours of Bashir Ahmed Baba, who was recently arrested by the Gujarat police , held a peaceful demonstration here today and sought the intervention of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to secure his release.

The Gujarat police had claimed that Baba was the wanted militant who was also known as ‘Pepsi Bomber’ for his ability to make IEDs in empty soft drink cans.

The police said it had foiled a plan by the Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen to set up a base in the state. It said Baba had conducted a reece of various vital installations in the state, including ISRO.

“We request Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene and secure the release of Bashir as he is innocent and has been implicated by the Gujarat police in a fake case,” Nazir Ahmed, brother of Bashir Ahmed, said here today.

“The allegations that he was recruiting youths for training in Pakistan are totally baseless. My brother is not associated with any militant outfit. Even the Gujarat police has not substantiated its claims,” Nazir said.

He said the Gujarat police should come out with the names of the youths who had been recruited by his brother.

A resident of Rainawari, a locality of the downtown city, Baba was working for an NGO that works in the healthcare sector and had gone to Gujarat on an ‘official trip’.

The family also approached Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and gave him an application seeking the intervention of the state government to secure the release of Baba.

The family members said they would continue the protests until the Gujarat police released Baba.

Jammu, March 18
First Lady Usha Vohra today emphasised the need for extending the ambit of activities of the Association for Social Health in India (ASHI) to extend benefits to more areas through its initiatives.

According to an official statement, Usha, who is the president,ASHI, J&K Chapter, said this while chairing the governing body and the annual general body meetings of ASHI.

Usha Vohra said that “There is a need for identifying new areas to be brought under the focus of ASHI activities. All members of ASHI shall play a pro-active role in the activities of this NGO by coming forward in a big way to help the needy and less privileged sections of society.”

She also stressed on identifying activities aimed at the empowerment of women, particularly in the rural areas.

She presented a cheque of Rs 50,000 on behalf of the Governor for meeting expenses towards new initiatives of ASHI.

She announced that Rs 1 lakh would be provided for setting up a cutting and tailoring centre at Barn to impart vocational training to the women so that they become economically self-reliant.

Meanwhile, two new members of the governing body of ASHI, namely Nasreen Khan and Kewal Ishar, were also elected.

Jammu, March 18
About one lakh new voters will exercise their right to franchise in the municipal elections likely to be held between April and May. Mubarak Singh, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said the first phase of preparing the electoral rolls had almost been completed.

In the first phase, a summary revision of electors and securitisation of mistakes on the voter I-cards have been done. Details have been handed over to the Chief Election Officer (CEO) for further action, said the commissioner.

“The CEO will send the draft rolls to us and we would publish the list in the newspapers for general information of all voters”, said the commissioner. After the publication of the roll, the MC would invite objection and would do correction in the voter list accordingly.

“The actual number of new voters could be identified only after the publication of the draft roll because the new voters could apply for the addition of their names in the list only after the publication of the draft roll”, said Neelam Kaur, Naib Tehsildar.

Meanwhile, there are around 1,24,199 voter I-cards pending issuance due to varied clarifications and discrepancies. According to sources, in 2008, the MC had sent 48,199 voter I-cards to the CEO for correction and around 76,000 new cards were sent one month ago, but the MC had not received the rectified voter I-cards so far.

However, those voters whose identity cards are pending issuance with the Election Commission would be allowed to cast their votes by producing any proof of their identity.

The commissioner said: “These electors can cast their votes by producing their identity proof like ration cards, passport or other identity proof “.

Jammu, March 18
Panthers Legislature Party leader Harsh Dev Singh has termed the Budget presented by the coalition government as a pauper’s balance sheet.

Participating in the debate on the Budget, Harsh Dev flayed the government for adopting anti-employee and anti-Jammu approach.

He said the proposals presented by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather had belied the hopes and expectations of the common man.

The government tried to woo the masses by providing some cosmetic concessions without realising the ramifications of enhancement proposed in VAT and toll tax, he said.

Harsh Dev observed that the increase in VAT and toll tax would have a cascading effect on the prices of essential prices and inflationary tendencies in the state.

He castigated the government for its policy of regional bias and condemned the hostile discrimination against the Jammu region.

Quoting figures on the subject, he said the region accounted for more than 76 per cent of the total taxes collected in the state on account of GST/VAT, excise duty, toll tax, motor spirit tax, passenger tax, entry tax, property tax, and stamp duty.

Srinagar, March 18
Separatist APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has approached international human rights organisations and appealed to them to take steps to check alleged human rights violations by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz, at present in Geneva, met the heads and senior functionaries of Amnesty International, the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) and the Special Rapporteur and Torture, an APHC spokesman said here today.

In his appeal to the human rights groups, the Mirwaiz urged them to depute delegations to Kashmir for an assessment of the human rights situation here, 
he added.

The Mirwaiz also informed the groups about the alleged rape and killings of two Shopian women, teenagers Wamiq Farooq and Zahid Farooq in Srinagar, and the destruction and devastation following an encounter in Sopore last month.