The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Assembly’s autumn session begins
*Obituary references to ex-legislators, Pataudi & quake
victims dominate Day 1
*Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, ex-CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed keep away
Ehsan Fazili/TNS

Srinagar, September 26
The nine-day autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly began today with both Houses paying homage to four former legislators, including a Speaker, who died since the last session in April. The Legislative Council or the Upper House also paid rich tributes to legendary Indian cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and those killed in the recent Sikkim earthquake.

Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone moved the obituary reference in the Legislative Assembly for former Assembly Speaker Ghulam Mohammad Mir Rajpori, former MLA Sadiq Ali and MLCs Nazir Ahmad Mir and Ahmadullah Azad. The Speaker and 11 members of political parties paid rich tributes to the former legislators and the House observed two minutes of silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls. Senior National Conference leader and Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather concluded the obituary reference on behalf of the government.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed did not attend the opening day of the session for varied reasons.

Paying rich tributes to former Speaker Ghulam Mohammad Rajpori, the House observed that he was a man of unique stature who upheld the values of secularism, socialism and democracy. Rajpori, who had been associated with politics since 1946, joined the National Conference and had also remained associated with the Congress for some time.

Having been elected to the House a number of times, Rajpori had also remained a Cabinet minister and Speaker during the 1960’s. He passed away on May 12, 2011.

Former MLA Sadiq Ali, close to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, was also elected to the Assembly in 1996 from Srinagar’s Zadibal constituency.

Former Legislative Council member Nazir Ahmad Mir was a well- known leader and represented Rajouri, while ex-MLC Ahmadullah Azad was a prominent leader who worked for the uplift of the people of Leh and Kargil districts.

Those who spoke on the reference included PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti and Syed Bashir Ahmad, BJP’s Chaman Lal Gupta and Jugal Kishore, Panthers Party’s Balwant Mankotia, CPM’s MY Tarigami, Peoples Democratic Front’s Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, JSM’s Ashwani Kumar Sharma, Congress’ Mohammad Sharief Naaz and Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan and National Conference’s Abdul Rahim Rather.

In the Legislative Council, Deputy Chairman S Arvind Singh Mickey moved the obituary reference. Minister of State for Home and Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani represented the government in paying rich tributes.

Afzal resolution: PDP submits amendment

Mehbooba Mufti
PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti comes out after the session. — PTI

Opposition PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday submitted an amendment to the clemency resolution for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru seeking support of the House to express solidarity with families of the victims of the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament. The PDP has already extended support to the resolution moved by independent MLA from Langate Sheikh Abdul Rashid seeking clemency for Guru.

BJP to hold statewide protests tomorrow

Jammu: State BJP chief Shamsher Singh Manhas said on Monday that statewide protests will be held on September 28 when the Assembly takes up the resolution on clemency for Afzal Guru. He also demanded disbanding of the Centre-nominated three-member team of interlocutors, stating that two of the interlocutors, Dileep Padgoankar and Radha Kumar, had lost their credibility by admitting that they had been accepting the hospitality of ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai. — TNS

Rahul visits Valley, says he understands Kashmiris’ pain
TNS & Agencies

Schoolgirls take a close look at a poster of Rahul Gandhi in Srinagar on Monday. Tribune photo: Amin War

Srinagar, September 26
On a visit to the Valley, Rahul Gandhi today struck an emotional chord with Kashmir University students, saying he understands the "pain" of Kashmiris as he was a Kashmiri himself

The AICC general secretary, who arrived here on a two-day visit to mobilise youth to join the party, visited Kargil, interacted with the students of the University of Kashmir and had discussions with sarpanches and panches here today.

Addressing around 2,000 students at the university's convention centre, the 41-year-old said he also understood the language of violence as his family had been a victim of violence. "I am a Kashmiri as a lot of you people must be aware. So the pain and the suffering of this place is my suffering as well,” Gandhi said, evoking applause from the students who had gathered for an interaction with him.

After his introduction by Kashmir University Vice Chancellor Talat Ahmed, Gandhi gave his own introduction and said his approach was to connect with the youth. "When I was 14, I was sitting in class inattentive when a lady walked to be and said there was a call. I received the call and told that my grandmother (Indira Gandhi) had been shot dead. Few years later my father (Rajiv Gandhi) was also killed. People who have suffered because of violence can understand the pain of violence," he said.

In a visibly relaxed atmosphere, a student told him: “I lost my father when I was just five. Why don’t you do something for us if you say you are also a Kashmiri? Kashmiri students are harassed and intimidated in other parts of the country where we go to pursue studies. Unemployment is growing and there are no avenues for professionals and educated people.” Rahul hoped that such incidents do not take place in future.

Students spoke about the lack of job facilities and also virtual absence of multi-nationals in the state. Rahul held that there was a need to create a peaceful atmosphere so as to lure more and more corporate houses to invest here. “You need an environment to support economic growth,” he said. He covertly stressed on the restoration of complete peace and normalcy so as to create an atmosphere for overall development of the state

Rahul promises all help to build Zojilla Pass

Kargil: Rahul Gandhi addressed a large gathering at a public park in Kargil town of Ladakh region earlier on Monday. He promised to use his clout to have the much-hyped tunnel made across the Zojilla Pass in Ladakh, which would ensure that the desert region of the state remains connected with the rest of the country year round. Heavy snowfall in the Zojilla Pass blocks the Srinagar-Leh highway for nearly six months every year. He also hailed the role of the people in defending the country’s borders and said that Kargil needed to be connected via road, air, telephone and other means of communication for overall development of the area. — Agencies

Tribune Special
State set to witness record tourist arrivals this year
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26
The militancy-plagued Jammu and Kashmir is all set to create a new record of tourist arrivals this year. According to official figures, the number of tourists who have visited the state till September 15 this year has surpassed the tourist arrivals during the corresponding period last year.

Tourism Department officials attributed this to the prevailing peace in the state and innovative steps taken by the state government, which, they said, had benefited the tourism industry, the second major source of income of the state after horticulture.

Tour and travel operators said hotels and guest houses were receiving a large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists.

“The Amarnath land row in 2008; the Shopian double murder case in 2009 and the unrest in the Valley and Leh cloudburst in 2010 had affected the tourism sector. However, the return of normalcy and effective steps by the state government have paid positive dividends this year. If the situation continues to be similar, the day is not far when our state will get the maximum number of tourists,” said Bashir Ahmad, a local tour operator.

The Ladakh region, which was devastated by flash floods last year, has so far witnessed an all-time high number of tourists. Till mid-September, the region has witnessed 1,48,558 tourists, which is almost double that of last year’s arrivals.

Similarly, 10,71,486 tourists, including 21,970 foreigners, have visited the Kashmir valley this year till September 15. In 2010, a total of 7,36,488 tourists had visited the valley.

The annual Amarnath yatra also saw an all-time high number of devotees this year. As many as 6.25 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine. Last year, the number was 4.58 lakh.

The Vaishno Devi shrine is expected to create a new record as far as the pilgrim arrivals are concerned. As many as 72,64,637 pilgrims have visited the shrine till mid-September. The number was 61.55 lakh during the corresponding period last year.

Robin Mehta, Director, Tourism, Jammu region, said, “The policies framed by the state government and the keen interest taken by Tourism Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora have yielded good results. We are trying to attract more tourists and a number of promotional activities have been arranged across the state. Besides, appeals have been made to other countries to lift their adverse tourism advisories.”

Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director, Tourism, Kashmir, said, “Although we have crossed the figure of tourist arrivals till mid-September last year, yet a lot of work remains to attract more tourists.”

He said over 90 lakh tourists had so far arrived in the state and the record of last year would be “easily achieved by mid-October”.

Nissar Hussain, Assistant Director, Tourism, Ladakh, said, “Though Ladakh witnessed its “worst-ever situation” last year due to the cloudburst, yet the figures of tourist arrivals till date are encouraging and indicate that tourists are inclined towards the natural beauty of this picturesque region.”

Who is the BJP Legislature Party chief?
Dinesh Manhotra/TNS

Srinagar, September 26
The BJP has been facing a piquant situation in the Legislative Assembly with two legislators claiming to be the Leader of the Legislature Party in the House. Veteran leader and former Union Minister Chaman Lal Gupta, who was expelled from the party on May 31 after the cross-voting episode, is still the Leader of the Legislature Party as Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone is yet to give his ruling on the “controversy of the BJP”.

After expelling Chaman Lal Gupta from the primary membership of the party, the BJP leadership on April 24 this year had appointed Jugal Kishore Sharma as the Leader of the Legislature Party in the Assembly. BJP state president Shamsher Singh Manhas had formally written a letter regarding the removal of Chaman Lal Gupta as the Leader of the Legislature Party, but six MLAs, who were expelled along with Gupta, had refused to accept Jugal as their leader.

As six of the 11 MLAs had reposed faith in the leadership of Chaman Lal Gupta, the Speaker had reserved his ruling and had announced to take a decision before the commencement of the Assembly session. However, even after the beginning of the session today, no decision has been taken so far.

During the obituary references on the first day of the Assembly today, the Speaker allowed both Chaman Lal Gupta and Jugal Kishore Sharma, leaders of both factions, to speak on the obituaries.

Jugal Kishore Sharma told The Tribune that the party had appointed him as the Leader of the Legislature Party.

Three “loyalist” MLAs of the BJP - Ashok Khajuria, Choudhary Sukhnandan and Choudhary Sham Lal - are treating Jugal Kishore as their leader in the Assembly while six MLAs - Jagish Sapolia, Master Lal Chand, Durga Dass, Bharat Bhushan, Garu Ram and Baldev Sharma - have repeatedly reposed faith in the leadership of Chaman Lal Gupta. This group of six MLAs had elected Garu Ram as the chief whip of the party in the Assembly by replacing “loyalist” Ashok Khajuria.

Home Guards want services regularised
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26
The Home Guards Association held a demonstration in front of the Press Club here today. Workers of the Janata Dal (United) also participated in the protest and supported the demands of the Homes Guards.

Speaking on the occasion, Inder Mohinder Tar Singh, state president of the Janata Dal (United), said, “We wholeheartedly support the demands of the Home Guards and urge Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to regularise their services.”

“The Home Guards who have been disengaged or dismissed should be reinstated and they must be given salary on a par with the Punjab Home Guards,” he demanded, adding that “the retired Home Guards should get all pension benefits.” Kamla Sharma, president of the Home Guards Association, also addressed the gathering.

VDC members demand salary
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26
The village defence committee (VDC), Rajpura, has expressed concern over the alleged apathy of the state government towards workers of these committees.

Reiterating its long-pending demands, including salaries and strengthening of the VDCs, president of the VDC, Rajpura, Om Prakash said, “VDCs are working as a second line of defence along with the security forces in far-flung and hilly areas of the state. However, successive governments have not recognised our contribution to counter-insurgency operations.”

“It is unfortunate that we have not been given salary and other benefits for the past over a decade,” he added.

He demanded that VDC members should get regular salary and proper uniform, besides other benefits in view of their work while acting as the second line of defence in militancy-affected areas.

Sore over raw deal, VRS staff stage protest
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26
"Voluntarily retired employees” of the SRTC today staged a protest here over the alleged raw deal meted out to them by the state government in general and the SRTC management in particular.

Led by All J&K SRTC Volunteer Retirement Employees Association president Dev Raj Bali and general secretary Surinder Singh, the retired employees criticised the SRTC management for not releasing their drawn bills, including leave salary, gratuity and ex gratia grant to the VRS employees.

They said the bills were prepared with effect from January 1, 2006, and were sent to the Secretariat, but due to wrong representation of the SRTC management, these were sent back.

“Due to wrong policies of the SRTC management, the VRS employees have been suffering for the past two years,” said Bali.

He said if the SRTC management failed to implement a Finance Department order dated August 30, 2010, within a week, the association will be forced to intensify its agitation.

A first: J&K gets ‘My Stamp’
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 26
Jammu and Kashmir today became the first state in the country to get “My Stamp” by which people will get personalised stamps with their photographs on these.

It was launched by Governor NN Vohra. A special cover was also released at the inauguration of the four-day State-Level Philatelic Exhibition and Post Office Festival, “Chinar-2011”, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Postal Circle at the SKICC here today.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor NN Vohra said stamps were an important source of learning about the geography, history, culture, national personalities and other important aspects of any country and these had acquired an important role in the world.

He said stamps, since they first came into use about 150 years ago, had acquired an important role all over the world. The Governor said if all stamps issued in India for the past over a century were placed in a chronological order, these would provide an exciting glimpse into our history.

The Governor said despite the advent of electronic communication systems like the Internet and video-conferencing , the role of the postal services continued to remain important, at least in the developing countries.

The Governor advised state Chief Post Master General John Samuel to consider take all necessary measures to significantly improving the mail delivery and other postal services in the state, particularly in remote areas, for the benefit of the common man. He said the Postal Department should launch a publicity drive to educate people to write the pin code on every letter as this would facilitate quick delivery of mail.

The Last Salute denounces war
Mahesh Bhat wants to make play on life of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru
Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 26
"The Last Salute”, an acclaimed play of the Asmita Theatre Group, based on the life of Iraqi journalist Muntazar Al-Zaidi, who had hurled his shoes at former US President George Bush, was staged at Zorawar Singh Auditorium here last evening.

The title of the play has been borrowed from the book by Al-Zaidi that has the same name.

The play, enacted by a team of 51 artistes from Delhi and Mumbai, started with a short speech by producer of the play and noted film-maker Mahesh Bhat.

Bhat denounced American hegemony in world politics, besides its much publicised and politiciced war on terrorism. Bhat said the US war on terrorism was generating terrorism instead of curbing it, besides brutalising people in smaller countries in the name of democracy and human rights.

The play, through its protagonist and journalist Al-Zaidi, who is a witness to the death and destruction triggered by the American attack on Iraq, denounces war.

Selected video clips related to the Iraq war, besides songs based on the poetry of progressive poets like Faiz, Shair and Habib Jalib, evocatively interwoven in the play, further enhanced the performance of the artistes and conveyed the message with more alacrity. Background music and compositions of Dr Sangeeta Gaur were compliment to the evocative situations unfolding in the play.

Certain videos displaying nude prisoners of war being tortured in confinements, human limbs, torsos and bodies, including those of children, on blood-bathed concrete roads were quite disturbing.

The play, written by Rajesh Kumar and directed by Arvind Gaur, got a thunderous applause from the audience. The character of Al-Zaidi was enacted by Imran Zahid.

Earlier, speaking to the media, Bhat said the Asmita theatre was making efforts to stage the same play in Kashmir. Bhat also expressed the desire to make a play on the life of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Describing the play as the most satisfying work of his life, Bhat said: “The play is not only a story of Iraq, but also of the entire humanity and therefore it is relevant everywhere. It’s the human beings who suffer the most during a war.”

“I have a very strong opinion on the Iraq war and I felt that the reality of Iraq should be made known to the people. This play is an effort in this direction,” he added.

The play got delayed by one hour as the sound and light system at the venue according to Arvind Gaur was not “technically friendly.”

Another jawan shoots himself

Jammu, September 26
Two days after a BSF jawan committed suicide at a forward post in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district, an Army jawan shot himself with his services rifle in Rajouri district today morning.

An Army spokesperson said that Sepoy Ashok Kumar of 60 Rashtriya Rifles shot himself dead with his service rifle in an Army camp at Kandi area of Rajouri district early today morning. Kumar belonged to Haryana.

A Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident. — TNS