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Advani throws weight behind Army
Jan Chetna Yatra greeted with slogans, black flags
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BJP leaders clash over seating arrangement on dais
Cong MP lauds Army’s role in providing security
Need to take care of war memorial, says Gupta
CAG vital for ensuring transparency: Omar
Srinagar-Leh highway to remain open in November
Touring students meet Union minister
92 booked for timber smuggling
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Advani throws weight behind Army
Jammu, November 16 “The Army is not a problem in the state. Don’t paint the Army as a problem. The BJP will not allow any decision on the state in which Army’s will is not taken,” he said while joining the debate on the continuation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). He was addressing a modest rally in the small Dassehra Ground in Gandhi Nagar. Advani said the state owed its existence and survival to the Army. “Right from the tribal attack to the several wars with Pakistan to the fight against terrorism, the state owes its survival to the Army. The contribution of the Indian Army should be acknowledged.” Referring to the demand of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for a pre-1953 status of the state, Advani said this was impossible as that would mean allowing the sacrifice made by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to go waste. Mukherjee, who founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, had visited Kashmir in 1953, and observed a hunger strike to protest the law that required Indian citizens to carry ID cards to visit the state. Although the ID card rule was revoked due to his efforts, he died on June 23, 1953, under mysterious circumstances. Advani said the withdrawal of special powers of the Army would be detrimental to the peace in the region, “Terrorists would hide in those areas where the Army does not have the power to launch an offensive against them.” Advani lashed out at the Manmohan Singh-led government, calling it the most corrupt government that had “delivered the worst governance in the history of the country.” “They are not doing much to bring back Rs 25 lakh crore of black money stashed away in foreign banks. He rubbished reports about weakening of the BJP in the state after the exit of several leaders in the cash-for-vote scandal for membership to the state Legislative Council. “We faced a similar situation in Rajasthan in the 1950s when six out of eight MLAs voted against the party regarding the Land Reforms Act. The party did not budge from honesty, discipline and commitment to public benefit at that time. Again, we did not compromise with our principles and sacked seven out of eleven MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir.” He was referring to the sacking of six BJP MLAs recently over the cash-for-vote scandal. Advani also lashed out at Pakistan for supporting terrorism in the state. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, who also addressed the rally, termed the Omar Abdullah government a failure and wondered how alleged touts offering membership to the Legislative Council had access to the CM house. BJP state leader Shamsher Manhas called for an end to the NC-Congress rule as it was doing injustice to the people by seeking removal of the AFSPA and bringing unjust policies like the new recruitment policy. |
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Jan Chetna Yatra greeted with slogans, black flags
Jammu, November 16 Interestingly, besides activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) a large number of rebel BJP activists under the banner of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum (JKDF) also showed black flags to Advani’s yatra. Meanwhile, rebel BJP leader and former vice-president of the party Anil Gupta was taken into preventive custody. Gupta is the son of Chaman Lal Gupta, who was expelled from the BJP following the cross-voting episode of April 13. Some workers of the Congress Seva Dal also tried to hold a protest on the yatra route but were dispersed by the police. Before Advani arrived in Jammu on a chartered plane, activists of some groups had gathered on the yatra route. A large number of activists of the SAD (Amritsar) carrying placards had gathered at Satwari and they shouted slogans against Advani. Meanwhile, activists of the JKDF comprising rebel BJP workers also reached there and raised slogans against the BJP and local party leaders. The protesters were carrying black flags. The situation became tense when a large number of BJP activists from the Samba area reached Satwari where activists of the SAD (Amritsar) and the JKDF had gathered. Both sides resorted to shouting slogans against each other and clashed. But before the situation could become serious, the police swung into action and used a mild force to disperse the activists of the SAD (Amritsar) and the JKDF. Anil Gupta, chairman of the JKDF, was taken into preventive custody when he reportedly went to police station to get released one of his supporters, who had been arrested during the protest. “There is police raj in the state. Anil Gupta had gone to enquire about one of his workers, who was apprehended by the police, but he too was arrested by the police,” Chaman Lal Gupta told The Tribune. He added, “I fail to understand what message the administration wants to give by arresting people without any reason.” Anil Gupta, however, was released late in the evening. |
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BJP leaders clash over seating arrangement on dais
Jammu, November 16 While one
of the stalwarts of the party Nirmal Singh entered into a verbal duel
with state BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas over the change in the
sitting arrangement on the stage at the eleventh hour, firebrand MLA and
farmers’ leader Choudhary Sukhnandan, on the other hand, sat in the
audience as a mark of protest. Before Advani’s arrival here, the
sitting arrangement on the stage was reportedly changed. This infuriated
Nirmal Singh and he objected to it. However, Manhas defended the action.
Both Nirmal Singh and Manhas entered into an altercation right on the
stage. Instead of occupying the chair allotted to him, Nirmal Singh left
the stage in a huff and sat in the audience. A senior leader, who was
also sitting on the stage, told The Tribune that Nirmal Singh and Manhas
clashed over the issue of protocol. Before the situation could take an
ugly turn, in-charge of the party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir and
veteran party leader from Delhi Jagdish Mukhi intervened. He pacified
Nirmal Singh and brought him back onto the stage. Mukhi even offered him
his chair. Following this Nirmal Singh relented and sat on the
stage. Vice-president of the party and Scheduled Caste (SC) leader Bali
Bhagat was visibly upset over not being alloted a seat on the stage
while other vice-presidents were sitting there. Sukhnandan, one of the
four party MLAs who were given a clean chit in the cross-voting episode,
was also annoyed at not being allotted a seat on the stage.
Interestingly, lower-rung leaders, who owe allegiance to Manhas, were
sitting on the stage, while Sukhnandan sat in the audience. When a
senior leader spotted him in the audience, he sent other leaders to
bring him onto the stage, but to no avail. They failed to placate
Sukhnandan. Party sources said Manhas was annoyed with Sukhnandan, who
is a prominent farmer leader, for holding a protest on the opening of
the civil secretariat in Jammu on November 9. |
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Chinese incursions into Ladakh routine affair: Dalai Lama
Akhnoor, November 16 He was talking to reporters at a photo exhibition held at the Kala Kendra here this morning. “China needs a democratic government so that the rule of law prevails there,” he said and parried questions whether India was going soft on the Tibet issue. “India, in spite of some negative things, has the rule of law with freedom of speech. Hence, I believe that through talks and understanding things can improve,” the Dalai Lama said while commenting on the Kashmir issue. Later in the afternoon, the Dalai Lama visited the ancient Buddhist site at Ambaran in Akhnoor and addressed a big public gathering there. He was accompanied by Minister for Tourism and Culture Rigzin Jora, Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma and MP Madan Lal Sharma. Without referring to any country, he called for peace and stability in the region. He said the lessons of “compassion and nonviolence” being preached by India were the greatest contribution to humanity. He emphasised on “secular ethics, peace, development, education and human values” during the discourse. Calling India the land of Aryans, the Dalai Lama said, “India is an ideal country world over as all faiths, except Islam and Christianity, developed here. Communal harmony and unity in diversity were its greatest virtues.” He said India’s relations with Tibet could be traced back to the time of world famous ancient educational institutions like Nalanda, Takshila and Bodh Gaya. “We can find many references to these institutions in the history of Tibet,” he remarked. “The entire earth is a heritage of the mankind,” the Dalai Lama said. He added, “Democracy is the only engine for growth and development in all countries, as it safeguards the rights of the common masses.” “You should study more and more and use knowledge for the betterment of the people. Equip yourself with modern and technological knowledge but do not forget cultural values,” he said referring to thousands of students from Ladakh present there. He was earlier received by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, ministers and senior police and civil officials at the Jammu Airport. ‘Need to expand Ambaran site’ “Change is the essence of life. Anything that comes into existence owing to reasons and efforts is bound to perish. The same thing happened to these monasteries here. However, I am happy that they have been rediscovered,” the Dalai Lama said. He also congratulated and honoured local historians who discovered the site. “The site should be expanded and developed so that historians from across the world could come here for the study and research,” he said.
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13th Martyrs’ Day Observed
Kathua, November 16 Lal Singh organised the function in memory of the martyrs, who laid down their lives while protecting the integrity of the nation. Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was to be the chief guest, could attend the function due to his meeting with the Prime Minister. Lal Singh sought some amendments to the existing laws saying, “If the only married son of a family dies while fighting militants, our laws only provide monetary support to the widow of the martyr. The laws should be amended and the government should also provide some support to the parents of the martyrs so that they can spend their lives comfortably.” He said, “To honour the families of the martyrs is our prime motive. But it does not mean that the work is finished. The government should provide them some privilege that they need not to have stand in queues at government offices.” The MP also demanded some kind of medical support for these people. “I receive a large number of complaints regarding the non-payment of timely benefits to the families of the martyrs. In some cases, petrol pumps and kerosene oil depots allotted to the families of the martyrs had been forcefully “purchased” by influential people. This practice should be stopped forthwith,” demanded Lal Singh. He motivated the people, especially the youth, to join the armed forces. “The kandi belt of the Jammu region has produced a number of security officers, who are serving across the country. A large number of people have made the supreme sacrifice too. But when it comes to providing any financial support to their families, the government starts citing fund crunch, which is unfortunate,” said Lal Singh. Former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma fainted during the function. Doctors were called to attend to him and he regained consciousness after a few minutes. He later addressed the gathering. Minister for Hajj and Auqaf Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Minister for Cooperatives Manohar Lal, former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, former Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council Arvinder Singh Micky, MLA GM Saroori, MLCs Subhash Gupta and Naresh Gupta and former MLA Kanta Andotra attended the function. The leaders paid floral tributes to the martyrs. The members of martyrs’ families were seen in tears while remembering their wards. |
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Cong MP lauds Army’s role in providing security
Kathua, November 16 Lal Singh, addressing a public gathering on the 13th Martyrs’ Day function organised by him at Shaheedi Chowk in Kathua, declared: “The Army is present from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to protect us. I have talked to the Defence Ministry in this regard and they have termed the (AFSPA rollback) issue baseless.” “Anyone who will try (to withdraw) it, would not be tolerated. The Army is a security cover to us and it protects the entire nation,” added Lal Singh. He also demanded a hike in the salaries of personnel belonging to the Army, BSF, CRPF and the state police. He urged the government to increase the daily meal allowance of the Jammu Kashmir police personnel. Highlighting the plight of the Special Police Officers (SPOs), he said: “These personnel have been working hard to wipe out militancy from the state. But, when it comes to providing them permanent jobs, they get rejected because they do not meet the physical standards set by the police,” said Lal Singh. The Congress leader said the government should amend its policies to rehabilitate SPOs. |
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Need to take care of war memorial, says Gupta
Jammu, November 16 In a statement issued here yesterday, Gupta said jawans and officers hailing from different parts of the country had laid down their lives to defend the borders of the nation. “It is sad that the forces are being subjected to a political debate under the influence of separatists and due to the confused approach of the Centre,” he said. Responding to the complaints of a group of ex-servicemen, who called upon him, Gupta said it was deplorable that even the ex-servicemen of the state were not being given the facilities which they were getting in other parts of the country. |
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CAG vital for ensuring transparency: Omar
Jammu, November 16 “The Jammu and Kashmir Government would work with the CAG institution for ensuring transparency in spending and improving the fiscal discipline. It is an important institution for proper management of resources and transparency in financial spending,” Omar said while addressing the valedictory function of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the CAG here. “The functioning of the CAG has become an important topic for discussion in every household at present and headlines about it carried by newspapers do come to the people at their tables in the morning along with breakfast,” he said, asserting that the significance of this institution had remained equally vital in the past, and it is vital at present and will remain the same in the future. — PTI
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Srinagar-Leh highway to remain open in November
Jammu, November 16 The meeting was convened to take stock of arrangements by the state government in view of early snowfall on Zojila top. He said the traffic department would monitor movement of vehicles on the road and ensure that
no vehicle remained stranded between Sonamarg and Kargil. On the need for a tunnel at Zojila, he said a feasibility report had been completed and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was expected to be submitted by year-end. |
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Touring students meet Union minister
Jammu, November 16 The students, in the age group of 12 to 16 years, are on a bharat darshan tour organised by the BSF. As part of the programme, they were taken to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Golden Temple and Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar and Delhi. These children also visited places of historical and cultural importance in these cities. As part of its civic action programme, the BSF conducts bharat darshan tours for the children from remote and border areas of Jammu
and Kashmir. |
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92 booked for timber smuggling
Srinagar, November 16 The minister said 151 vehicles and 1,620 horses used in timber smuggling were also seized from various forest areas in the last two years. The PSA is a tough law which allows detention of a person without trial for two years. — PTI |
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