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BJP to approach Lok Sabha Speaker over split in party
Strain
in Coalition? |
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Series of CBMs in the pipeline, says Soz
Cong minister draws flak from party leaders
Dialogue only way to solve K-issue: Mufti
Govt committed to development of backward areas: Taj
Leh receives fresh snowfall
Jamaat urges India, Pakistan to initiate dialogue on Kashmir issue
NC reaches out to people on Facebook, Twitter
SKUAST team to help farmers go organic
Pandits’ meeting with separatists worries Panun Kashmir
Dateline
Kashmir
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BJP to approach Lok Sabha Speaker over split in party
The BJP leadership has sought disqualification of seven party legislators who were expelled from the party but the Speaker had announced that he was still treating the legislators as members of the BJP in the Assembly. Addressing a press conference, former Minister of Delhi and in charge of the state BJP Jagdish Mukhi ruled out the possibility of taking back the seven MLAs expelled from the party. “We cannot challenge the Speaker’s decision in court. But we will take every possible step to convince the Speaker to disqualify the seven legislators who have already been expelled from the BJP,” Mukhi said and announced that there was an option to approach the LS Speaker against any wrong action of the Speaker of any state Assembly. When his attention was drawn towards the decision of the seven rebel MLAs to seek disqualification of the four MLAs who have been given a clean chit by the high command in the cross-voting controversy, Mukhi said Chaman Lal Gupta had already been expelled from the party so he had no authority to seek disqualification of the four party MLAs. Appeal to Centre on Gilgit-Baltistan
Expressing concern over the continuous violation of human rights in northern areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the BJP today asked the Centre and the state government to immediately intervene and protect people of Gilgit-Baltistan. Releasing copies of the resolution passed in the state executive committee meeting, Mukhi explained the reason for the party’s concern over the recent developments in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said by officially taking up the resolution in the working committee meeting, the party had reiterated its support to the suffering masses in these areas. Chief spokesman of the state BJP Jatinder Singh said that the Jammu and Kashmir which Maharaja Hari Singh had acceded to the Union of India in 1947 included PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Singh said the Gilgit-Baltistan region was facing continuous human rights violations at the behest of the ISI and Pakistan authorities. During the last one month, over 400 people from the minority Shia community had been killed in cold blood, he added. |
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Strain
in Coalition?
Jammu, April 29 The party leadership is “shocked” at the “adamant” attitude of the coalition partner, the National Conference, over extending the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution to the state. “The attitude to our coalition partner on the amendments is really unfortunate. In our election manifesto during the 2008 elections, we had promised to implement the amendments in the state but have failed to do so till now,” said Dharam Pal Sharma, senior vice-president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). He said the agenda of the Congress was ignored by the government. “The party leadership has asked the Congress ministers in the coalition to assert themselves in official meetings to get party’s agenda implemented on the ground,” he told The Tribune and reiterated that the party was committed to the extension of 73rd and 74th amendments to the state. Referring to NC Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, who has reportedly ruled out the implementation of these two amendments in the state due to Article 370, the Congress leader said those opposing the implementation of these two amendments should recoginse the spirit of the amendments. Sources in the Congress said the “helpless” local leadership had also sounded the high command regarding the adamant attitude of the National Conference on the two amendments, which, according to the Congress, were crucial to empowering the panchayats and the urban local bodies. “The party leadership has realised that entering into an alliance with the NC without formulating a common minimum programme (CMP) was the biggest blunder committed by the party,” a senior Congress leader told The Tribune. He said there was no agenda of governance in the present regime so the NC, which was heading the coalition, had been implementing its own agenda. Although a coordination committee of both parties, headed by Pradesh Congress Committee Saifuddin Soz, has been constituted to set the agenda of the government, there was a feeling within the Congress leadership that the NC was not taking the coordination committee seriously. “Congress representatives in the committee have raised a number of issues during meetings but the government has not taken any serious step to implement issues closer to the party,” another Congress leader said. He added that the party leadership had realised that the Congress ministers had to be more assertive to get the agenda of the party implemented before the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
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Series of CBMs in the pipeline, says Soz
Srinagar, April 29 “Certain heart-warming situations are in the offing in the subcontinent as Pakistan has finally realised that terrorism is detestable. Pakistan has also realised that it will be to its advantage to live in an atmosphere of understanding and friendliness with India. A series of CBMs, including relaxation of the visa regime, are in the pipeline,” Soz said while addressing a gathering at Lar in Ganderbal district. He hoped that the adoption of these CBMs would bring relief to the lives of people. He further hoped that travel and trade along the Line of Control (LoC) would become brisk and facilities like telecommunication and banking would also be made available soon. On the occasion, Soz sanctioned Rs 20 lakh out of his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund for development projects in the area. He thanked UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for “liberal” funding for the development of the state. Talking to The Tribune later, Soz said he was hopeful that the Indo-Pak CBMs would be implemented soon. When asked if there was any special reason behind holding a rally at Ganderbal, which is the stronghold of the ruling National Conference, he said: “It was a routine rally. We have been holding rallies all over the state. But the Ganderbal rally has been a success as a large number of people turned out despite rain in the area.” Soz was accompanied by Minister for Youth Services and Sports RS Chib and Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla. Other senior Congress leaders were also present on the occasion. |
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Cong minister draws flak from party leaders
Jammu, April 29 Shabir Ahmed Khan is Minister of State (MoS) for Power, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution and Transport in the Omar Abdullah-led coalition
government. Two days ago Congress member in the Upper House Jahangir Mir had created an uproar in an official function at Poonch after finding his name missing from the plaque during the inauguration of a power grid station. Similarly, Congress MLA Indu Pawar is infuriated over being “deliberately sidelined” during a function which was held on Saturday to inaugurate a receiving station of the Power Development Department
(PDD) at Marh. Although Pawar is a nominated MLA, she has been working in the Marh Assembly for the last three years with the hope of getting the party mandate from this seat in the next elections. “Shabir Ahmed Khan deliberately ignored party leaders during the official function,” Pawar said, adding that it was not the first time that the party minister had committed this “mistake”. Pawar said National Conference Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar had formally invited her for an official function of the Rural Development Department which was held recently. “Ministers of our coalition partner are giving us importance but our own party colleagues are deliberately ignoring us,” she alleged and announced that she would take up the matter with the state leadership as well as the high command. Sources said a number of Congress leaders were annoyed at the behaviour of the MoS for Power because he had been ignoring party colleagues. “What to say of the MLA, even local Lok Sabha member Madan Lal Sharma was not formally invited to the function,” sources said and added that Congress leaders had complained to JKPCC chief Saifuddin Soz about the behaviour of Shabir Ahmed. They alleged that the minister was not giving importance to the organisation and was behaving like an autocrat. |
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Dialogue only way to solve K-issue: Mufti
Jammu, April 29 Addressing public meetings in the Simbal Camp area of RS Pura Assembly segment and Dogra Hall in Jammu, Mufti Sayeed said the situation in Pakistan had changed and the country was giving an encouraging response to the dialogue and reconciliation process so it was high time to take some bold steps to solve all bilateral issues, including Kashmir. “The atmosphere is conducive for taking some concrete steps for the resolution of the Kashmir issue,” he argued and said it was the desire of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to solve the issue. He, however, emphasised on the need to evolve a consensus on Kashmir because peaceful relations between India and Pakistan were in the interest of the people of both countries. Taking a dig at the ruling National Conference (NC) for trying to undermine the historic role played by the PDP in the opening of the cross LoC routes, the PDP patron said for decades NC leadership had exploited people in the name
of opening the Uri-Muzaffarabad road. He said his party’s self-rule proposal could become a reality with progress on the trade front and could take the state out of the siege that had severely restricted the economic, political and social growth since the Partition. |
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Govt committed to development of backward areas: Taj
Rajouri, April 29 He disclosed that the reforms undertaken in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) sector, including the Water Resources Act-2010 and subsequent levying of water usage charges, had enabled the state to ask for enhanced allocation from the Centre in these sectors. Addressing a series of public meetings at Rakki Ban, Peeri, Choudhary Nar, Palma, Muradpur, Dalogra and other areas in the district, the Minister reiterated the commitment of the present coalition government for equitable development of all the regions
of the state. He said the government had the responsibility and was committed to the development of the backward areas. He said the government with the active support of the Centre had embarked on an ambitious programme of infrastructural development in the backward areas to make people equal partners in growth and development. He said the successful implementation of the said Act had led to increase in the Central allocation in schemes like the National Rural Drinking Water Programme from Rs 200 crore to Rs 400 crore and the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme from Rs 300 to Rs 560 crore. The Irrigation Minister said many big and successful steps were taken by the state government during his three years tenure, including the decision of demanding the return of power projects from the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), reclaiming the state’s share of power and water from Ranjit Sagar Dam in Punjab and re-evaluating the irrigated command area of the state, which had got depleted due to urbanisation. He said the water usage charges from the NHPC would constitute 30 per cent of the state’s own revenue and would also go up every year and improve the energy scenario of the state. Minister of State for Power Shabir Ahmad Khan, who accompanied Taj during the tour, complimented the Minister for the bold initiatives taken by him. He said the development needs of Rajouri district were being addressed in a phased manner. He said the state government had recently submitted a Rs 80 crore project for funding from the Centre under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) meant for the district. Taj made several announcements during his public meetings in the district. He said the water supply scheme at Dalogra would be augmented and soon the people would get potable drinking water. He said a Rs 2 crore water supply scheme at Batoni and Rs 74 lakh water supply scheme at Muradpur had been approved by the
government. Similarly, he said Rs 2 crore water supply scheme at Krad and Rs 5 crore water supply scheme at Palma-Dhana had also been approved and work on them would start soon. |
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Leh receives fresh snowfall
Leh, April 29 The heavy snow forced the authorities to close the pass for traffic. According to the Police Control Room, Leh, “The fresh snowfall started since midnight and continued till morning in Leh district today. However, the
snow started to melt within minutes in the low-lying areas.” Officials of the Meteorological Department, Srinagar, said Leh town had recorded 5 mm of snowfall and the minimum temperature recorded in the town was 0.8°C. All the four scheduled flights between Delhi and Leh were cancelled due to snowfall. Hundreds of tourists
were stranded at Leh and Delhi. |
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Jamaat urges India, Pakistan to initiate dialogue on Kashmir issue
Srinagar, April 29 Jamaat spokesman Zahid Ali welcomed Ki-moon’s statement where he had asked India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully and also respect the wishes of the people. He also appealed to India and Pakistan to initiate a meaningful dialogue for the final settlement of the issue by including the “real representatives” of the state. “This human issue is a big hurdle in the full-fledged economic and social development of the Indo-Pak region and establishment of permanent peace in the area,” Ali added. Both factions of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani too had welcomed Ki-moon’s statement on the Kashmir issue yesterday. Meanwhile, the Jamaat claimed that “some bureaucrats were sowing the seeds of dissension” in the state. “It is being obviously felt that the state machinery through some bureaucrats is engaged in sowing the seeds of dissension amongst the Muslim community for some ulterior motives and in order to achieve this vicious purpose, some pseudo scholars calling themselves Moulanas and Allamas have been brought to promote sectarianism among the Ummah (Muslim community) by raising certain irrelevant issues in an emotional way,” Ali said. |
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NC reaches out to people on Facebook, Twitter
Srinagar, April 29 NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the working president of the NC, was particular about the party being accessible to the media and the people. “Omar is very particular about the party being accessible to the media and the people. He (Omar) has directed us to be available to everyone,” the NC spokesman said. “The NC’s Twitter and Facebook accounts will be interactive, receptive and quick to respond. Anyone can follow us on these accounts. We will be happy to assist and help the people in every possible way,” Sadiq added. He said the NC’s social networking accounts were mainly aimed at youth so that the party was accessible to them. When asked how the NC intended to reach out to areas where Internet connectivity was a problem, Sadiq said: “We have made our landline number (2454178) public through the local media. This is for the first time that a party has made its phone number public through which people can register their complaints directly. We only want to bridge the gap with
the people.” Omar too had recently posted the link of the “new and improved” Twitter account of the NC on his personal Twitter account. “The new and improved Twitter account of The J&K National Conference. This will be managed by the spokespersons of the party,” he had said. However, the NC’s Twitter account has not so far attracted many followers like Omar’s Twitter account, which hits the headlines regularly. While Omar has got 1,31,065 followers on Twitter, the NC’s account has only 174 followers. |
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SKUAST team to help farmers go organic
Srinagar, April 29 The university has also enlisted over 250 farmers for organic farming (done without the use of chemicals). “We dream to see the Valley go organic one day. We are working on a multi-pronged strategy to achieve this,” said the Vice-Chancellor, Tej Partap. “Though we are still in nascent stage, we have started working towards achieving the dream.” Associate Director (Research) MY Zargar, who heads the organic agriculture programme of the university, said the university had constituted a group of scientists from various faculties to acquaint them with the concept of organic farming and make them aware about the new concept. “Besides scientists, we have enlisted farmers for organic farming and we hope that more farmers will come forward as the demand for organic produce grows globally,” he said. Zargar said farming was being done without the use of chemicals on over 30,000 hectares across the state. “Farmers are growing walnuts and saffron without the use of chemicals. They are reaping rich dividends for their organic produce. They are now demanding organic certificate for better marketing of their produce,” Zargar said. The Associate Director (Research) said they would provide technological assistance to farmers to promote organic farming. “We have set up an organic bio-fertiliser plant in Wadoora, Sopore, that will supply bio-fertilisers to interested farmers,” he said. |
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Pandits’ meeting with separatists
Jammu, April 29 In a meeting of the Kashmiri Pandit community held here under the banner of the Panun Kashmir today, members of the community termed the separatist leaders as traitors, who were allegedly selling the exiled Kashmiri Pandits for their vested interests. While speaking on the occasion, BL Bhat from Jagti said the separatist leaders were fifth columnists, who were bent upon keeping the Kashmiri Pandits hostages. PL Raina, a camp leader from Muthi, expressed shock over the developments and asked the community members to remain vigilant from people within the community, who were self-seekers and middlemen. He also expressed dissatisfaction over the constitution of the Apex Committee and said it was not represented by credible people. Dr Ajay Chrungoo, chairman, Panun Kashmir, said the community was facing a war of attrition and the Kashmiri Pandit community was in the forefront of a civilisation war. He said those people who were meeting the separatists were surrendering the Kashmiri Pandit community to the persecutor, who wanted an attestation from the Pandit community that the separatist movement was not communal and regressive, but secular.
— TNS |
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Nearly 1,000 Rohingyas living in Jammu region
Jammu, April 29 At present, nearly 1,000 of them are living in slums in different parts of the Jammu region, mostly working as ragpickers and labourers. However, they prefer not to talk about how they came to the state and who helped them here. Though very few people know about these “invisible refugees”, sources said many of the Rohingyas, who are escaping Bangladesh after the closure of refugee camps run by United Nations, are silently entering India by using local contacts in Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and West Bengal and later spreading out to various parts of the country. Most of the refugee camps were in Chittagong, where they have lived since their forced expulsion from their ancestral homeland in the Northern Arakans after the Myanmar army (Tatmadaw) unleashed a violent pogrom against them. Sources said the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the CID are fully aware about the influx of these refugees as many of them have been caught on the International Border (IB) in J&K. But, instead of taking steps for their repatriation, the state government is overlooking the issue and after spending sometime in the police lockup, they stay back in J&K. “We are feeling safe here; people are extending cooperation to us. Though we don’t get any assistance from the government, as we don't fall in any category, somehow we are surviving”, said Maulvi Mehmood Ul Haq, who runs a madrasa in one of the colonies at Narwal. He said their hopes are now linked to the demand of the Rohingyas to grant them refugee status in India for which they are holding protest outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), New Delhi. “It’s our only hope to live a dignified life. Our people have suffered much under the military rule in our native Arakan region of south Mynamar and we have nothing left to go back there”, said Haq. In many cases, they project themselves from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to get petty jobs for survival, but there is no help from authorities. At times, some religious organisations collect donations for them. A source from the Home Department said: “Indian government is quite clear on them that they should be sent back, but keeping in view the track record of the government in dealing with influx of foreigners, it seems that no decision will be taken on them. The state has no policy for them”, the officer claimed. When contacted, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani expressed ignorance about the matter. “I don’t know about this. You better talk to local administration. They will be able to present a better picture about this issue”, Wani said.
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Dateline
Kashmir
In the Internet age where the number of people communicating by posting letters is decreasing with every passing day, the state’s Department of Posts (DoP) is now making its presence felt through other means. First, the DoP set up a “floating post office” on the Dal Lake, which besides functioning as a normal post office has put on display rare stamps, books on Kashmir’s history and colourful postcards to attract tourists.
The DoP J&K circle has also decided to focus on the development of its banking services in rural areas of the state after it registered 21 per cent growth in its saving accounts during the last financial year. While steps are afoot to computerise and modernise 250 post offices, the DoP ATMs are coming up at Srinagar, Leh and Rajouri. Moreover, the DoP will also be organising several sports tournaments to make its mark in the state. It intends to host All India Postal Football Tournament, Speed Post Football Tournament, Postal Life Insurance Cricket Tournament and India Post Badminton Tournament later this year. In an effort to encourage schoolchildren to take up the hobby of stamp collection, the DoP will be organising School Stamp Shows (SSS) across the Kashmir valley from next month. Varsities face identity crisis
When Vice-Chancellors of agriculture varsities of the country met under the banner of Indian Agriculture Universities Association in Srinagar on Friday to discuss the challenges faced by them in fields of education and research, they unanimously raised the issue of their
identity crisis. The Vice-Chancellors maintain that they don’t know whether the varsities are the babies of the Centre or state. The Vice-Chancellors say the Union government tells them that the universities are owned by the state governments while the latter claim that they are owned by the Union government as it is funding them. The Vice-Chancellors appealed to the government to clear the confusion over the identity crisis that had led to many problems in agriculture varsities. — Contributed by M Aamir Khan and Majid Jahangir
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Jammu, April 29
Jammu, April 29