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Centre, M’rashtra have shown maturity: CM
Justice has finally been done: Farooq
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Campaigning intensifies for Legislative Council poll
Women complain of unfair representation
‘Don’t link tourist inflow to peace’
Nothing done to empower panchayats in J-K: Wajahat
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Centre, M’rashtra have shown maturity: CM
Jammu/Srinagar, November 21 Instead of directly reacting to the decision of the government to hang Kasab, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appreciated the Centre and the Maharashtra Government for handling the situation in a mature way. “Gotta hand it to the governments at the Centre and in Mumbai for the mature way they handled this. Shows we can still keep a secret if we need to,” Omar tweeted in a social network site. Omar, however, took a dig at news channels. “Now we'll watch all the channels line up to claim that they were the ones to break the news of the hanging,” he tweeted. While no Congress leader was ready to speak on the issue, the BJP demanded that Afzal Guru should “The news of hanging of Kasab has brought relief to family members of victims of the Mumbai attack as well as to the nationalist section of the Indian society,” said BJP spokesman Jatinder Singh. “The Centre must also expedite the process for Afzal Guru’s execution and others who were involved in attacking Parliament,” he said. Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh said the law had taken its course in Kasab’s case and the law must take its own course in Afzal Guru’s case also. “In my opinion there is no difference between Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru,” Harsh said. Meanwhile, most parties and leaders in Kashmir region maintained silence on the hanging of Kasab except for the controversial Independent MLA Shiekh Abdul Rashid. Rashid said no one in the region would “celebrate” Kasab's death and compared the militant to “dozens” of others “in uniform” who are “protected by the state” in J&K. “Kashmiri people neither enjoyed the death of innocent people on 26/11 as a result of terror attacks in Mumbai nor will they celebrate the death punishment given to Ajmal Kasab,” the MLA said. Other than Rashid, no political leader or party in the Kashmir region made any immediate comment on Kasab’s hanging. The ruling National Conference spokesman Tanvir Sadiq and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party spokesman Nayeem Akhtar said their parties had no comment to make on Kasab. Hardline separatist group led by Syed Ali Geelani also refused to comment on Kasab’s hanging and moderate separatist amalgam made no mention of it in their statement. The hardline Hurriyat Conference spokesman, however, said those involved in the Machil “fake” encounter of three civilians should also be hanged. “Those involved in the Machil encounter should also be hanged and those who were involved in the 2008 and 2010 target killings of our youth should also be hanged,” Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said. Akbar also warned of “severe repercussions” if Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged. In Srinagar city, a brief protest was held at Maisuma where unknown persons burnt a tyre to express their resentment against the hanging. Police sources said a tyre was burnt in the centre of Maisuma by unknown people leading to a brief shutdown in the market area. In the afternoon, a group of youths also threw stones at the police near the Budshah bridge, near the Maisuma locality, but they were immediately chased away by police personnel. |
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Justice has finally been done: Farooq
Mumbai, November 21 The minister was here for a BCCI meeting. “I am sure many of those whose relatives had died must be at ease today. I think our justice system is such that it takes time, but the justice is finally done. You should be happy. He was given all the opportunities and justice was finally done," the minister added. On the fate of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, he said the demand for clemency with the President. It will take some time.
— PTI |
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It’s a message that terrorism will not be tolerated, say security forces
Jammu, November 21 They questioned the different parameters for 26/11 terror convict Kasab and Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru, a man who “had committed a more serious crime than Kasab”. The Army, BSF, CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have been combating Pak-sponsored terrorism in varied forms in the state since 1989. “We appreciate that after following the process of law and giving Kasab all opportunities to defend himself, he was hanged. It has sent a strong message to the world that terrorism will not be tolerated
by India,” said a top defence source. Kasab’s hanging after nearly four years of terror attack also conveyed to the world that India upholds fundamental rights of even those who commit crime against humanity, he said. On Afzal Guru, the source said he should have been sent to the gallows long back. “He also went through the same process of law and was held guilty by the apex court in 2004. Though his mercy petition is pending before the President, there is no logic in delaying justice on the grounds of a possible backlash in Kashmir,” said the source. A senior Army officer, while welcoming Kasab’s hanging, also said that Afzal Guru’s crime was more heinous than Kasab’s. “There is no reason to delay justice in Afzal’s case and there is no reason to protect him. The Centre perhaps is reluctant because it thinks that Afzal’s hanging may spark protests in Kashmir,” he said. A CRPF officer, who felt that justice at last had prevailed with the hanging of Kasab, said Afzal’s mercy petition had neither been accepted nor rejected and that life behind four walls of a prison was more severe a punishment than death. |
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Campaigning intensifies for Legislative Council poll
In the Kashmir division, the two candidates from the National Conference and the Congress are pitted against the two PDP candidates. A total of 17,891 panchayat members, including 12,632 male and 5,259 female, across 77 blocks in 12 districts of the Kashmir division, which include Leh and Kargil districts of the Ladakh region, would decide the fate of 16 candidates in the Legislative Council poll. The state has a total of 33,485 panchayat members who would decide the fate of 37 candidates. The polling is being held at each of the 145 blocks in the state, out of which 69 have been marked as sensitive, 25 hypersensitive and 51 normal polling stations. Out of the 77 polling stations in the Kashmir division, 42 are sensitive, 11 hypersensitive and 24 normal. There are only 12 normal polling stations in the Kashmir valley which fall in Baramulla district. The six polling stations of Kupwara district have been categorised as hypersensitive. All the eight polling stations in Budgam district of central Kashmir and the five polling stations in five blocks of Bandipore district of north Kashmir have been categorised as sensitive. Meanwhile, the coalition parties, the National Conference and the Congress, in an attempt to project a united face amid “simmering differences”, today jointly launched an election campaign for the two Legislative Council seats from the Kashmir valley. |
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Women complain of unfair representation
Jammu, November 21 Addressing a press conference yesterday, Vimla Devi, sarpanch and president of the women wing (Jammu province) of the conference, said at least 30 per cent reservation should be given to elected women panchayat members in the Legislative Council elections to be held under the panchayat quota. She said women panchayat members were thinking about boycotting the elections. She said it was unfortunate that none of the political parties in the state had given representation to any elected woman panch or sarpanch. “We demand that from the panchayat quota's MLC seats, there should be reservation for elected women panchayat members,” she said. She also demanded implementation of the 73rd Amendment in the state and honorarium and adequate security for elected panches and sarpanches. “Neither Chief Minister Omar Abdullah nor his Panchayati Raj Minister is taking any steps to build confidence among panchayat members,” Devi said. If the demands are not met, the elected women panchayat members will march to the civil secretariat and gherao the Chief Minister and Panchayati Raj Minister, she said.
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‘Don’t link tourist inflow to peace’
Jammu, November 21 Questioning the “intentions” of the Chief Minister, they took on the ruling dispensation for ignoring Jammu vis-à-vis allocation of funds for carrying out development activities in the tourism sector. “This is a wrong thinking on the part of the Chief Minister that tourist arrival couldn’t be linked with normalcy. It (peace) has rather a direct impact on the visit of tourists to the state. During militancy, domestic and foreign tourists used to avoid visit to Jammu and Kashmir due to fear psychosis,” said Inderjeet Khajuria, president of the All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association. Khajuria said the government must understand that normalcy and peace were prerequisites for tourist and pilgrim arrival in the state. “Earlier, there was a plan to construct a direct rail-link between Udhampur and Srinagar but they diverted the track towards Katra to take Vaishno Devi pilgrims to Kashmir. It means the situation has shown a significant improvement. Also, the government is least bothered about developing Jammu as an independent tourist destination. The glaring example is the inordinate delay in completion of all major tourist destinations,” he said. Omar while addressing a seminar “Sustainable Tourism-Environment and Infrastructure” organised by the Kashmir Hoteliers and Restaurant Associations at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar yesterday said “the revival of tourism should not be equated with normalcy as the two possessed different parameters to be judged.” The Valley has registered a 79 per cent increase in the arrival of tourists so far this year. Yashpal Gupta, president, Association Chamber of Traders Federation, termed the Chief Minister’s statement as “politically motivated” and “bereft of reality”. “Time and again, the government has admitted that the ground situation has improved while the remarks made are in complete contrast to the fact. The government must understand that the trade between Srinagar and Jammu is interlinked. If the security situation in Srinagar is not good, it will have a direct bearing on the trade in Jammu,” said Gupta. “The Chief Minister’s motive and intention to make such statements is unclear.” Noted political analyst Prof Hari Om also said the Chief Minister was not clear in his intentions and thoughts. “On one side, foreign nations are lifting negative advisories on return of normalcy in Kashmir and on the other, he (Omar) is singing in a different tone. He seems to be in a state of confusion,” said Prof
Om. |
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Students protest against Israeli attack in Gaza
Srinagar, November 21 The latest protest by the University of Kashmir students is the part of a series of protests which began earlier this week against the Israeli attacks on Gaza. The Palestinian cause evokes deep sympathy among residents. Frequent protests have been staged in the past to express sympathy with Palestinians. The protest held at the university today is so far the biggest in the Kashmir region in the recent days. The students carried banners and placards in support of the Palestinians and denounced Israel as an “aggressor”. Most of the slogans raised at the university were laden with religious references. “Roos ko mit-tey dekha hai… Israel teri bari hai.. (We have seen the Soviet Union falling, Israel, it is your turn now),” the protesting students shouted, referring to the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, immediately after the end of its war in Afghanistan. The students, who were accompanied by the university’s teaching and non-teaching staff, later performed special funeral prayers for Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes, including Hamas’ military chief Ahmad al-Jabari. Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for Friday protests against the Israeli attack on Gaza. Earlier this week, a group of lawyers and a women separatist outfit held protests against the Israeli attack on Gaza. A group of youth, responding to a Facebook protest call, also held a candle light vigil in support of Palestinians on Sunday in the city here. State secretary of the CPM MY Tarigami has also denounced Israeli attacks on Gaza and called on the Central government to snap military ties with Israel. |
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Nothing done to empower panchayats in J-K: Wajahat
Jammu, November 21 He also took on the government for its failure to constitute an independent election commission for panchayats in the state. “The 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution provides an independent election commission for panchayats - a provision which is not available in the J&K Panchayati Raj Act 1989. Except J&K, all the states have election commissions for panchayats. Similarly, there must be an independent and autonomous state finance commission which decides about the devolution of financial powers to the panchayats,” said Wajahat. He was speaking at the inaugural of a three-day national seminar on “Devolution of Powers in Jammu and Kashmir” at the University of Jammu this evening. The seminar was being organised by the Dean, Research Studies and Post Graduate Department of Sociology, University of Jammu, in collaboration with the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR). He said there should be regularity in the conduct of panchayat elections after every five years. “The panchayat elections, which are executive at the grass-roots level, should be held every five years. There must be an independent election commission which the state Panchayat Raj Act doesn’t enshrine. The non-conduct of timely elections has rendered the panchayats defunct and all powers remain with block development offices which have become the epicentre of corruption across the country,” said Wajahat, adding that corruption has been decentralised. He targeted the state for its failure in devolving judicial powers to the panchayats. “The judicial powers must be devolved to the panchayats to make them effective at the grass-roots level,” he said. He said there should be restructuring of the District Development Boards in the state and added that administrative powers should be decentralised to gram sabhas rather than retain it with district magistrates. The former Chief Information Commissioner favoured public participation in governance, saying, “The largest principle and objective of a functional democracy is public participation in governance where people have a say and are responsible for governance.” |
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Srinagar, November 21