|
|
|
|
|
Pranab on 3-day visit to J&K
President to chair KU convocation
|
|
|
News Analysis
Cong to step up demand for panchayat empowerment
Blocking of LPG
Connections
Residents queue up at a gas agency in Jammu on Wednesday. — PTI
A question mark over two bodies
News
Analysis
JKCA chief to attend BCCI meet today
Killing of Panches
NC leader Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal addresses party workers
in Jammu on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Tribune scribe assaulted
Separatist leader Andrabi, six others get bail
|
|
Pranab on 3-day visit to J&K
Srinagar, September 26 General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen K T Parnaik, Director General of Police Ashok Gupta, Chief Secretary Madhav Lal were also present at the airport to receive the President. This is Mukherjee’s first visit to the state since he became President in July this year. He had earlier visited Kashmir on the last leg of his presidential campaign on July 15 to seek support from the ruling National Conference, which is also an alliance partner of the UPA government at the Centre, and other political parties, including the main opposition PDP. In the evening, the Governor and Chief Minister had separate meetings with the President. Vohra briefed the President about various aspects of the growth and development of the state and the overall security situation. The Chief Minister in his meeting with the President discussed the state’s political and developmental issues. During his three-day visit to the state, the President will chair the convocation ceremony of the University of Kashmir. He will hand over medals and certificates to meritorious students at the 18th convocation of the University tomorrow. The President will be returning to the Capital on Friday morning.
|
||
|
President to chair KU convocation
Srinagar, September 26 The convocation will be attended by President Pranab Mukherjee who will be the chief guest on the occasion. Besides, Governor NN Vohra, the Chancellor of the university and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Pro-Chancellor, KU, will also be attending the convocation along with 1,100 students who will be awarded on the occasion. Around 2-km area of the campus is under tight security vigil with only a single point entry through the Budshah gate being allowed in the campus on the convocation day for students, faculty and guests. Sources said just the entry and exit of the President would be through the VIP gate of the campus. The sources added that the Parachute Battalions would maintain tight vigil over multi-storeyed buildings of the university. Reportedly, the university has taken a strong notice of some banned student unions hoisting black flags on the Allama Iqbal Library Complex. “There are still some black flags, which are hoisted in some areas of the campus, but they would be removed till evening. The security men are also keeping a keen watch on the student protests, which have been called by the banned students union, the Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU) and separatist leaders,” the sources said. |
||
|
News Analysis
Srinagar, September 26 The panchayat polls, which were held last year in the state after a gap of over 30 years saw people from rural Kashmir queuing in hoards to caste their vote. More than 80 per cent turnout was recorded in these polls and over 33,000 panches and sarpanches were elected across the state. It was soon after these polls that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated people for voting and showing faith in democracy. UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi went a step ahead and termed the voter percentage as a "befitting reply" to Pakistan. After these polls, the state government also assured the newly elected panchayat members that they will be empowered and will play an important role in the local governance. The elected sarpanches and panches became overnight poster boys and they also dreamt big about empowerment. The panchayat members were also importantly encouraged by the fact that militants made it clear that they had nothing to do with these polls as they were meant for solving local issues. In fact, the chief of indigenous militant outfit Hizbul
Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, had also announced that the militants would not oppose the process. The elected panchayat members also made it clear that the elections had nothing to do with the Kashmir issue. But as the months passed by, the panches and sarpanches felt let down by the government claiming that no powers were extended to them in several departments where they were supposed to handle. Apart from letting down by the government, the panchayat members started feeling the heat as suspected militants issued threats to them asking them to resign in many districts of the Valley. The militants also killed three sarpanches and panches this year, which had forced these panchayat members to resign. So far over 800 panaches and sarpanches have reportedly resigned in the wake of these threats and many more are contemplating to do so. Though the panchayat elections were held on non-party basis, all three major political parties, the two coalition partners, the National Conference and Congress and the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party, have been claiming the victory of the majority of their respective cadres. However, the coalition partners, the NC and the Congress, have been in a way at loggerheads with each other over the empowerment of
panchayats. The process hangs in balance for the panchayati raj system is incomplete in the absence of elections to the Block Development Councils and district-level bodies, even after a lapse of more than one year after the panchayat elections. |
||
|
Cong to step up demand for panchayat empowerment
Jammu, September 26 Sources in the Congress said the party leadership had decided to intensify its campaign for the 73rd Amendment. “The stand taken by the high command on the issue has encouraged local party leaders. Earlier, they felt that the central leadership would not take their views seriously and importance would only be given to coalition partner National Conference,” a senior Congress leader told The
Tribune. He said a showdown appeared imminent on the issue of the 73rd Amendment between the two coalition partners. The sources said the high command had given a clear direction to the local leadership not to compromise on the issue of delegating powers to the panchayats by incorporating the Indian Constitution’s 73rd Amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act in the state. “The Congress, which has been forced to play second fiddle during the last three and a half years after the formation of the coalition government, has decided to be more assertive on the issue,” the sources said. A meeting of some senior Congress leaders will be held with the central leadership at Delhi the next week to devise a strategy to exert pressure on the National Conference. J-K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz, who has been pressing for the 73rd Amendment, has reportedly told the local leadership that their stand had been vindicated by the high command. There was a need to further intensify the struggle for empowering panchayats. “We will not compromise on the Amendment issue because it is required to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institution in the state”, Soz told The Tribune. The party’s campaign for incorporating the
Amendment to the existing Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act would be continued.
|
||
|
Blocking of LPG
Connections
Jammu, September 26 Even the director of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Parvaiz Malik, felt that people didn’t get enough time for the re-verification of their connections. “The oil companies have blocked 1.25 lakh connections in Jammu under three different categories- people with same name and same address, who had connections but had stopped taking refills for the past many years, people with different names and same address and people who had same name parentage but had given different addresses,” said Malik. When asked what prompted the government to block 1.25 lakh consumers in a single stroke, the CAPD director said the Ministry of Petroleum had already issued a notice in national newspapers advising every household to get only one LPG connection and surrender additional connections. “Certainly, the local and regional newspapers besides radio and television should have also been used for wide publicity of government decision. People didn’t get time to get their connections re-verified. A year back, the government had initiated a process of verification of LPG connections via dealers but people at that time took it lightly,” said Malik. However, the government has been pondering over all possible ways to bring on board oil companies, dealers and the LPG consumers, he added. For those, who had genuine LPG connections, but had not used it for years getting their refills from their dealers on phone, can go to the transparency portals of their respective oil companies on the Internet and just mention the state, district and name of LPG dealers to get their consumer registration number to re-verify their connection, said the official. “Without any wide publicity through different mediums and via LPG dealers, the government blocked 1.25 lakh connections in a single stroke. While illegal immigrants in this country are being pampered by the politicians, genuine citizens like us have been left to fend for ourselves,” said a housewife Meenakshi Arora. The Centre has capped the number of subsidised cylinders to six per household in a year, which has badly hit our budget and to aggravate our miseries, the state government blocked 1.25 lakh connections in one stroke, said Ashwani Sharma, a government employee. A prominent dealer in the city said the government didn’t bother to intimate the LPG dealers in Jammu before blocking 1.25 lakh connections. “Now, people are after our lives. I am finding it extremely difficult to tackle them,” said the dealer. The government has also decided that in case of excess refill beyond six refills in a year, the same will be provided without subsidy. The price is yet to be fixed but I have come to know that it would cost over Rs 1,000 per refill, he added. |
||
|
A question mark over two bodies
Jammu, September 26 The Kashmiri Muslim families had staked their claim to the bodies and subsequently buried the bodies in a graveyard at Ganderbal. The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), which a few days ago received the DGP’s response in the case, now plans to get the bodies exhumed for conducting a DNA test on them. The case pertains to four Hindu labourers -- Bhushan Lal of Mangoo Chak, Ram Lal of Lalyal, Satpal of Chatha and Ashok Kumar of Pathankot. The labourers were allegedly approached by four Army personnel, including an officer, on April 12, 2004, at Gole Market in Gandhi Nagar here. The Army men had allegedly promised them a monthly salary of Rs 6,000 besides free lodging and clothing on the condition that they would work in Kashmir. Madan Lal, father of Bhushan Lal, submitted before the SHRC that after their wards left for Kashmir on April 13, 2004, he along with the families of three other labourers approached the Army authorities at Satwari to enquire about the wellbeing of their kin but in vain. A year later, Madan Lal was shocked to get an anonymous letter purportedly written by an Army officer that stated that their wards had been killed on April 20, 2004, in a fake encounter in the Markul area of Kashmir. The anonymous letter also had the names of 12 Army men, who allegedly took part in the fake encounter. A police report also substantiated the allegation, stating that the Army unit at Devar on April 20, 2004, had lodged a written report at Lalpora police station claiming that it had killed two “terrorists” in the Markul area. Incidentally, the whereabouts of two other labourers still remain a mystery. Following the killing of two “terrorists”, two Kashmiri men named Noor Mohammed Shah and Syed Mustafa Shah of Chont Wali War in Ganderbal had staked their claim on the bodies. Subsequently, on June 23, 2004, the decomposed bodies of the “terrorists” were exhumed and handed over to Noor and Syed but without the DNA tests. The Kashmiri men later buried the bodies in a graveyard in Ganderbal. |
||
|
News
Analysis
Srinagar, September 26 The panchayat polls, which were held last year in the state after a gap of over 30 years saw people from rural Kashmir queuing in hoards to caste their vote. More than 80 per cent turnout was recorded in these polls and over 33,000 panches and sarpanches were elected across the state. It was soon after these polls that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated people for voting and showing faith in democracy. UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi went a step ahead and termed the voter percentage as a "befitting reply" to Pakistan. After these polls, the state government also assured the newly elected panchayat members that they will be empowered and will play an important role in the local governance. The elected sarpanches and panches became overnight poster boys and they also dreamt big about empowerment. The panchayat members were also importantly encouraged by the fact that militants made it clear that they had nothing to do with these polls as they were meant for solving local issues. In fact, the chief of indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, had also announced that the militants would not oppose the process. The elected panchayat members also made it clear that the elections had nothing to do with the Kashmir issue. But as the months passed by, the panches and sarpanches felt let down by the government claiming that no powers were extended to them in several departments where they were supposed to handle. Apart from letting down by the government, the panchayat members started feeling the heat as suspected militants issued threats to them asking them to resign in many districts of the Valley. The militants also killed three sarpanches and panches this year, which had forced these panchayat members to resign. So far over 800 panaches and sarpanches have reportedly resigned in the wake of these threats and many more are contemplating to do so. Though the panchayat elections were held on non-party basis, all three major political parties, the two coalition partners, the National Conference and Congress and the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party, have been claiming the victory of the majority of their respective cadres. However, the coalition partners, the NC and the Congress, have been in a way at loggerheads with each other over the empowerment of panchayats. The process hangs in balance for the panchayati raj system is incomplete in the absence of elections to the Block Development Councils and district-level bodies, even after a lapse of more than one year after the panchayat elections.
|
||
|
JKCA chief to attend BCCI meet today
Jammu, September 26 Sources said members of the JKCA had expressed shock over this decision claiming that the president of the association, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had earlier communicated to both BCCI and JKCA office-bearers not to maintain any liaison with Goni after his name was surfaced in a preliminary internal inquiry report of the in-house advisory (probe) committee probing into the scam. “It is really strange that on the one hand, the JKCA warned that the culprits involved in the multi-crore scam will not be spared and on the other hand, it is making a mockery of its own announcements,” a source in the JKCA said. “It is impossible for us to understand this dual policy of the association. The JKCA chairman did not attend the recent meeting of the working committee on September 8, then how he could be authorised to attend an important meeting of the BCCI at its headquarters in Mumbai”, the source claimed. “The image of the JKCA has already been tarnished after the unearthing of the multi-crore scam and the decisions like that will make things even worse,” he added. The sources added that the preliminary internal inquiry report of the four-member JKCA
in-house panel regarding the financial bunglings in the JKCA was also forwarded to the BCCI besides submitting it to the JKCA chief. “Instead of wasting its energy on conducting meetings to discuss the poor performance of the state team in the ongoing U-14 North Zone Tournament of the BCCI, it is imperative that the JCKA should focus on making a concrete strategy for future”, the source said. “Ranji Trophy is not too far away and we still have no plans regarding the preparation of our team. If the present trend continues, after the U-14
team’s debacle, another disastrous performance from senior cricketers cannot be ruled out,” the JKCA source opined.
|
||
|
Killing of Panches
Jammu, September 26 Kamaal, who is Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s uncle, also made a jibe at coalition partner Congress, especially J-K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Saifuddin Soz for indulging in “dirty politics” over the killing of panchayats members. Kamaal gave this statement a day after some political parties targeted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his alleged failure to protect panchayat members. “Most of the killings of panchayat members have occurred in those areas which have been considered the stronghold of Jamait,” he said, adding that one of the accused who was apprehended in connection with the killing of a sarpanch in the Pattan area belonged to Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani’s Hurriyat faction. Geelani is head of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference which is an amalgam of various separatist groups. Jamait-e-Islami is one of the constituents of hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. In an informal chat with mediapersons on the sidelines of a function at National Conference headquarters here this afternoon, Kamaal blamed Geelani for the prevailing situation. “Geelani and other forces are out to destabilise the democratic system in the state,” he pointed out. Kamaal, who is the younger brother of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, seized the opportunity to target arch rival PDP. “Mufti Mohammad is very much involved in such killings. I would like to make Mufti one of the prime accused in such killings,” he alleged. While giving a clean chit to the government headed by Omar Abdullah, Kamaal said separatists, the PDP and some other elements did not want that the situation should be normalised. “Militancy has promoted some vested interests, and these elements are trying to destabilise the situation”, he alleged. When his attention was drawn to the letter written by JKPCC chief Soz to the Chief Minister, Kamaal said: “It is unfortunate that Soz despite being chairman of the Coordination Committee of the government has been going to public on the issue. Decisions pertaining to the functioning of the government are taken by the Coordination Committee.” “Some forces want to create an impression in the rest of the country and the world that all is not well in Jammu and Kashmir,” he pointed out. He said the recent attacks on panchayat members were targeted killings and it was extremely difficult to stop such “calculated” and “targeted” killings.
|
||
|
Deputy CM reviews development works
Jammu, September 26 Deputy Chief Minister was reviewing the progress of development projects taken up by ERA and NBCC in Jammu city at an officers’ meeting here. Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pardeep Gupta; Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma; SSP, Traffic, Manmohan Singh; and officials of various departments were present on the occasion. The Deputy Chief Minister also reviewed the status of upgradation work on various city roads. He said the government should not ignore the difficulties being faced by people due to digging of roads for laying sewers and instructed the agencies concerned to speed up the ongoing works to ensure their early completion. He instructed the officials concerned to monitor the projects and point out any discrepancies to the higher authorities. The Deputy Chief Minister emphasised the need for inter-departmental coordination. He directed officials to prepare work schedules in consultation with various agencies involved. Sticking to a schedule prevents undue delays and saves time and money, he added.
|
||
|
Tribune scribe assaulted
Srinagar, September 26 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has assured a probe into the assault. Qadri was assaulted by IPS officer Imtiyaz Ismail Parray, who is stationed as a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Shaheed Gunj Police Station, without any provocation when the journalist was gathering information from students who were protesting outside the Old Secretariat building. Parray continued to assault Qadri even when he told him that he was a journalist covering the protest. The journalist was later bundled into a police vehicle and detained for more than an hour at the Shaheed Gunj Police Station where he was kept in a lock-up. While the journalist was being released, the IPS officer said, “These things happen in the heat of moment.” When Parray was contacted later, he refused to make any comment. “Contact the SSP for reaction,” the IPS officer said.
— TNS
|
||
|
Separatist leader Andrabi, six others get bail
Srinagar, September 26 “Andrabi and the six activists were arrested during a protest demonstration against a blasphemous film in Srinagar on September 21. A case was registered against them at Khnayar Police Station last week,” said advocate
Mir Shafqat Hussain, the counsel who argued their bail application before
the court. They were booked under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Act (ULA) and Section 188 of the Ranbir Penal Code (Breach of Peace) on September 23. While arguing the bail application before the court, counsel Shafqat submitted that Andrabi
and her colleagues were arrested on September 21, while their arrest was shown by the police on September 23. The women activists were granted bail today only after submitting surety bonds of Rs 20,000 each to the court. Soon after the court orders were served upon the police, they were immediately released from the police custody.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Blaming hardcore elements of the Jamait-e-Islami (JeI) for the killing of panches and sarpanches in the Kashmir valley, outspoken additional general secretary of the ruling National Conference Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal today also pointed a finger at former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
