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BJP battles infighting as ‘loyalist’ MLAs rebel
Court rejects SIT progress report
SAD flays state govt for alienating Sikhs
Info panel paid price for meddling with babus
SIC, govt at loggerheads?
100 given training in war surgery
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US Afghan withdrawal will not impact Kashmir: Farooq
Krishna’s visit rekindles hopes of traders
RR honours ex-servicemen
Nomads not welcome in Patnitop
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BJP battles infighting as ‘loyalist’ MLAs rebel
Jammu, September 8 The party had expelled seven of its MLAs after the controversy to maintain “discipline” in the organisation. After the expulsion of the MLAs, including veteran leader Chaman Lal Gupta, the party has been divided into many groups, as the present leadership has failed to learn a lesson from its mistakes. Sources said the four “loyalist” MLAs have been openly opposing the style of functioning of the state leadership. The MLAs had already informed the high command about the attitude of the state president, Shamsher Singh Manhas, sources said. Some senior party leaders had even tried to intervene but to no avail. The four, who are members of the core group of the party, even boycotted two successive meetings of the party to register their protest against the state president. These MLAs are deliberately skipping meetings convened by the party president. Sources said the state president and his supporters had allegedly been trying to undermine the importance of these MLAs in the party, which had infuriated the legislators. They have now virtually opened a banner of revolt against the leadership. Insiders said due to the infighting, different warring factions had been openly opposing each other, resulting in disarray within the party. The “disciplined” BJP leaders were not hesitating to wash their dirty linen in public, sources added. The rebels under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum (JKDF) have already roped in a large number of dedicated party workers. After expelling Chaman Lal Gupta, the party leadership was hoping to tighten its grip over the organisation but the situation had worsened during the past one year, as the loyalists had failed to iron out their differences. The infighting within the party was likely to intensify as countdown to elect the new state president had already begun. The warring factions had been working overtime to ensure victory of their candidate in the election. The four ‘loyalists’ The BJP high command expelled seven party legislators, including veteran party leader Chaman Lal Gupta, and gave a clean chit to four MLAs — Ashok Khajuria, Jugal Kishore, Choudhary Sham Lal and Choudhary
Sukhnandan. |
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Court rejects SIT progress report
Srinagar, September 8 CJM Rajeev Gupta in his orders observed that the SIT officials seemed to be either confused or not conversed with the true import of the orders passed by the court. The SIT progress report was submitted to the court by the prosecution today. Wamiq was allegedly killed by a teargas shell fired by the police on January 31, 2010, in the downtown area of Srinagar. “Apparently, as is reflected from the opening paragraph of the report, the SIT is investigating into the case FIR No. 12 of 2010 of the Nowhatta police station. It appears either the SIT officials are confused or they are not conversant with true import of the orders passed by this court on August 22,” the judge observed. In the orders passed on August 22, the court had made it clear that the SIT had to investigate the circumstances that led to Wamiq’s death. It had not to investigate FIR No. 12 of 2010, which relates to a stone-pelting incident, wherein Wamiq has been described by the police as a “miscreant”. Rejecting the SIT progress report submitted today, the court directed that the SIT be provided a copy of the August-22 orders, so that it is able to understand the “import of court directions” fully. The case has been listed against for further consideration on September 29. Demanding an FIR into his killing, the victim’s family has been maintaining that Wamiq was killed after a tear smoke shell fired by the police hit him on the head while he was playing carom. The police has resisted registration of a separate FIR into the boy’s killing. |
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SAD flays state govt for alienating Sikhs
Srinagar, September 8 The party, while paying rich tributes to Shiekh Mohmamad Abdullah on his 30th death anniversary, castigated his son Farooq Abdullah and his grandson Omar Abdullah for not being able to live up to the slogan of ‘Hindu Muslim Sikh unity’ which was raised by Shiekh Abdullah. Senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Gyani Surjeet Singh Badal told The Tribune that the Sikh community of Kashmir enjoyed fair representation in Shiekh Abdullah’s regimes, 1947 to 1953 and 1975 to 1982. “However, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have clearly managed to keep the the Kashmiri Sikhs out of power by not giving them a cabinet berth. This has discouraged a lot of Sikh youths who want to be involved in politics,” he said. The SAD leader said a majority of the Sikh youths were jobless and that the community’s demand of setting up a minority commission in the state has been overlooked by the state government. Acknowledging the presence of rampant corruption in the state gurdwaras, he blamed the government for delaying the gurdwara elections for four years. Badal said due to the delay, the transparency could not be achieved. He said Kashmir needed leaders such as Shiekh Abdullah and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad who always stood for the principles of justice, secularism and harmony. |
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Info panel paid price for meddling with babus
Jammu, September 8 An in-depth investigation into the controversy has revealed that the State Information Commission (SIC), which had been rendered “toothless” after amendments to the rules, had to pay a heavy price for its “tussle” with the bureaucratic setup in the state. “The sweeping changes to dilute the powers of the commission seem to be a case of bureaucratic vengeance. Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) GR Sufi had probably gone beyond the mandate of the RTI Act-2009 after he summoned Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, the administrative head of the state bureaucracy, to his office in Srinagar in February early this year,” official sources said. Sources said the commission desired to have full compliance of Section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir RTI Act-2009 for which it had sent a communiqué to the administration, but didn’t get a “positive” response from the bureaucracy. Thereafter, it also sent several reminders to the General Administration Department (GAD), asking it to ensure the compliance of Section 4, under which public authorities are supposed to make disclosures about their departments. “The commission even wrote to the office of the Chief Secretary to bring to the notice of the head of the bureaucracy in the state the failure of government departments in disclosing the information. Failing to get any response, the CIC summoned the Chief Secretary to appear in person before the commission,” a source said. They said the commission’s direction didn’t go down well with the bureaucratic setup despite the fact that the Chief Secretary appeared before the commission and had an hour-long interaction there. It was for the first time that the head of the state bureaucracy had to appear before the commission. “The summoning of the top bureaucrat was probably the turning point behind the sweeping amendments to the RTI Act because the CIC’s move was seen as a breach of commission’s mandate. The J&K RTI Rules-2010, which were comprehensive and elaborative, were reduced to 13 from 44,” a source said, adding that the rules were amended by the GAD and were approved by the Cabinet without giving it a second thought. “The state Cabinet had just given its approval to the new rules but these rules were amended by the GAD. The Cabinet, according to my information, had not sought any amendment to the previous rules,” said a senior Cabinet minister while indicating that bureaucrats called the shots in the corridors of power. On August 30, the GAD had issued an SRO repealing the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Rules-2010 and introduced the J&K RTI Rules-2012 “without consulting the stakeholders”. Sufi, however, refused to comment on the issue. |
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SIC, govt at loggerheads?
Jammu, September 8 Official sources said CIC GR Sufi had written to the Commissioner Secretary, GAD, Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, asking him to make the contents of his letters to the Chief Minister and the GAD public so that people could know the truth about the repeal of the RTI Rules-2010. It has come after the state government, apparently in a facing saving exercise, partially put the onus of repealing the RTI Rules-2010 on the State Information Commission. The government spokesperson had said that the State Chief Information Commissioner, in his letter addressed to the Chief Minister, indicated glaring disparity between the fee structure and copying charges under the State RTI Rules, 2010 and the Central RTI Rules. Sufi said: “File an RTI application under Section 6 and seek the full correspondence between the GAD and the CIC. I will say nothing beyond that.”
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100 given training in war surgery
Jammu, September 8 Maj Gen Vijay Saraswat, Commandant, Command Hospital, Udhampur, welcomed the delegates and complimented the work done by the hospital’s surgical team. Army Commander Maj Gen Rajan Chaudhary, in his key-note address, sensitised the young surgeons about surgeries in war and their intricacies. Terming the academic event as an important milestone, the Army Commander said their soldiers were actively involved in counter-insurgency operations and low-intensity conflict situations, which make them susceptible to injuries which are often disabling and even deadly. As medical officers and paramedics in the forward locations are the first responders to victims of battle, a ‘Combat Trauma Life Support’ workshop was organised to give hands on training to the participating paramedics and help them in refining their skills. The Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services, Air Marshal DP Joshi, who was the guest of honour at the CME, stressed the importance of bolstering surgical basics and adopting new techniques for addressing battle casualties and to decrease the mortality rate of the soldiers. Air Marshal Joshi highlighted the role of the Armed Forces Medical Services in providing quality combat medical care and promoting research in the field. Lt Gen Gautam Ravindranath, Senior Colonel Commandant, Army Medical Corps, released a souvenir encompassing various articles on war surgery during the ceremony. Lt Gen Balbir Pama, Chief of Staff, HQ Northern Command, released a CD which carried detailed articles on the subject. Maj Gen PP Varma, MG (Med) HQ Northern Command, released a handbook titled ‘War and Trauma Surgery’ as a ready reference book for young medical officers posted at peripheral areas. |
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US Afghan withdrawal will not impact Kashmir: Farooq
Srinagar, September 8 Abdullah’s comments are in stark contrast to the assessment made by top Army generals in Kashmir who have been warning that the US withdrawal will create a “ripple effect” across the region, which will also impact Jammu and Kashmir where the two-decade-long militancy is rapidly fading. “No impact. Kashmir is alright,” Abdullah, who has thrice been the Chief Minister of the state, told reporters in reply to a question on the possibility of an impact on the state once the US withdrew its military from Afghanistan. Abdullah, who was the Chief Minister in 1989 when the Soviet Union withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, said the US would not “just walk out” of the war-ravaged country. “Their presence will still be there,” he said. The victory of Afghan “mujahideen” over the Soviet Union in 1989 is widely considered to have given an impetus to the then fledgling militancy in Kashmir. Many veterans of the decade-long Soviet-Afghan war have been killed battling security forces in the state over the past 20 years. Lt Gen KT Parnaik, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) for Army’s Northern Command, had recently warned of possible diversion of militants who were battling the US forces in the Afghan-Pak region to Kashmir. The US military is scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014 after unsuccessfully fighting more than a decade-long war against the Taliban militia and its Islamist allies. |
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Krishna’s visit rekindles hopes of traders
Srinagar, September 8 “We hope that cross-LoC trade is discussed between India and Pakistan. Both countries should agree on a negative list of trade items through LoC,” said Dr Mubeen Shah, president, Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a representative body of trade and industry bodies on both sides of LoC in J&K and PoK. He is also president of the Joint Cross-LoC Traders’ Union. Dr Shah said traders from Kashmir and Jammu had held a meeting in July with YK Sinha, Joint Secretary, MEA, in New Delhi, over the issue. Sinha, who is also the in-charge of Indo-Pak and LoC trade in the state, is accompanying the Foreign Minister to Pakistan. “During that meeting, we had put forth our demands and suggestions for boosting cross-LoC trade, including inclusion of a negative list of trading items,” said Dr Shah. Only 21 items are currently allowed to be traded through LoC. “Instead of having a positive list of items, we will like to have a negative list of items as there is a huge potential for trading thousands of items through LoC,” he said. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also raised the issues with Krishna during his visit to Srinagar on July 26. The cross-LoC bus service, one of the biggest-ever CMBs, was started between two divided parts of Kashmir in 2005. Three years later, cross-LoC trade was started from two points in Poonch in Jammu province and Uri in north Kashmir. The quantum of trade through LoC has gone up as the situation improves in the Valley. Last year, the total trade volume across the LoC stood at Rs 400 crore per annum, while the total worth of the traded items through LoC is estimated at Rs 1,600 crore.
The demands * Cross-LoC traders seek inclusion of negative list of 50-100 items * Want transit, banking and communication facilities * Only 21 items are currently traded through LoC “Instead of having a positive list of items, we will like to see a negative list of items as there is a huge potential for trading thousands of items through LoC” — Dr Mubeen Shah, president, Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
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RR honours ex-servicemen
Rajouri, September 8 The departments of fishery, agriculture, sericulture, social welfare, revenue and various banks had put up their stalls to guide the ex-servicemen about various schemes available for them. Stall pertaining to health schemes and general guidance were also put up. Rajouri Zila Sainik Welfare Officer Maj (retd) RS Thakur presented Rs 48,000 to nine ex-servicemen for the marriage of their daughters. Besides giving gifts to the participating ex-servicemen, sewing machines were presented to needy widows. On the occasion, Maj (Retd) RS Thakur was awarded a professional excellence certificate. A medical camp was also held in which Army doctors provided healthcare advice and free medicines to the participants. A grievance cell was also put up to register the problems that are being faced by the community. |
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Nomads not welcome in Patnitop
Batote, September 8 “They are a threat for the Patnitop and their settlements are an eyesore. They not only spoil the environment by cutting coniferous trees for fuel and for erecting tents but also damage the infrastructure like water pipes, electric poles, barbed or wooden fences, dustbins etc. They also scare the tourists by their cattle and dogs. Also,
the dung of their cattle strewn everywhere emanates a lot of stink,” rued JC Anthal, sarpanch, chakwa panchayat. “The constant interference of some prejudiced bureaucrats and politicians has emboldened them as no stringent action is taken against them,” he lamented. Locals say the children of these “pampered” nomads have damaged the swings in the Children’s Park. They also create nuisance by pestering the tourists to give them alms. “Overgrazing by the cattle erodes the top layer of soil, spoiling the greenery in the area which in turn imbalances the flora and fauna. Due to this, the production of forest products gets affected,” said a local forest range officer. “Due to militancy in Kashmir, these nomads prefer Patnitop to the Valley. The authorities should take a decision to control the situation,” said Batote DFO Mushtaq Ahmed Choudhary. “We have formed a committee to look into the matter. We will fence the parks and other sensitive places from next year,” said Dr RK Kesar, CEO, PDA.
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A two-day Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme on “Surgery in War” was inaugurated by Northern Command GOC-in-C Lt Gen KT Parnaik today.
The Rashtriya Rifles organised an event to felicitate ex-servicemen of the Armed Forces from Rajouri district at Kalakote today.
Over 300 ex-servicemen, widows and their dependents attended the function. The rally, which was inaugurated by SDM Nowshera Dr Rajender Kumar
Khajuria, was also attended by senior officers of the civil administration.
