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Govt enacted several landmark laws, says Governor
Assembly elects Mubarak Gul as Speaker
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Budget session starts on a stormy note
PDP moves adjournment motion, to disrupt proceedings
Govt may allow discussion on Afzal Guru hanging in Assembly
New Assembly Speaker meets Guv
Functioning of panchayats in state discussed
NC leaders in war of words over Geelani’s house arrest
Tattered Tricolour flutters
on secretariat building
Separatist groups call for shutdown in Valley today
Hyderabad Blasts
Chenab drinking water project gains momentum
Pilgrimage to PoK shrine: Migrant Pandits to seek support in Valley
3 killed in road mishap in Ramban
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Assembly elects Mubarak Gul as Speaker
Jammu, February 28 Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mir Saifullah moved a motion to elect Gul as the Speaker which was seconded by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand. Gul was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the House by a voice vote. He succeeded Mohammad Akbar Lone who was recently inducted to the state Cabinet. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Deputy Chief Minister took Gul to the chair and wished him success. Gul had represented the Eidgah Assembly constituency of Srinagar district for four terms, 1983, 1996, 2002 and 2008. He was a member of the Legislative Council in 1987. While congratulating Gul after he assumed the chair in the Legislative Assembly on the first day of the budget session, the Chief Minister said Gul’s seniority and experience made him the “choicest person” to hold the chair of the Speaker in the Legislative Assembly. Omar said four time legislator, Gul, had rendered valuable assistance to him as his adviser. He also recalled his long association with Gul and said when he (Gul) used to visit his house to meet Farooq Abdullah, he used to take away his motorbike and empty its fuel tank by taking long rides. Several members also congratulated Gul and described him as one of the experienced legislators. They hoped that he would fulfil the aspirations of the members in conducting the proceedings of the House with high traditions of democracy. In his address, Gul expressed gratitude to the members for his unanimous election and said he would make all efforts to fulfil their aspirations and strengthen the credibility of the institution. The Speaker stressed the need for highlighting the issues of public importance in the House. This, he said, can be possible with the cooperation of all members. He sought full cooperation of the members in the smooth conduct of the House so that justice was done with every member in the deliberations. Gul said, “We have to restrain ourselves from cheap politicking and follow the high principles of sacrifice, sincerity and tolerance set by our great leaders. We should set new examples for the coming generations and maintain the decorum in the House at all costs.” |
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Budget session starts on a stormy note
Jammu, February 28 The National Panthers Party (NPP) also stayed away from the Governor’s address and staged a sit-in outside the legislative complex to lodge its resentment against the state government’s failure on all fronts.
Four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators also held a demonstration outside the complex over the killing of panchayat members and demanded foolproof security for elected sarpanches and panches and empowerment of panchayats. Engineer Abdul Rasheed, the Independent legislator from Langate, was marshalled out during the Governor’s address when he created an uproar on Guru’s hanging and accused the National Conference and the PDP of shedding crocodile tears. It began as soon as Governor NN Vohra began his address to the joint session. Carrying a controversial poster and wearing a black bandage, Rasheed interrupted the speech and asked why Guru had been hanged. He got into a verbal duel with the BJP and a Jammu State Morcha (JSM) legislator who objected to Rasheed’s remarks and demanded action against him. He had a minor scuffle with BJP legislators when the latter snatched the poster and tore it. He was forced out of the Central Hall by the watch and ward staff. In the House of 89 members, all 21 PDP legislators led by Leader of Opposition Mehbooba Mufti staged a demonstration in front of the complex demanding that Guru’s mortal remains be handed over to his family for performing the last rites. Talking to mediapersons, Mehbooba asked, "The people of Kashmir want to know whether the state is a part of Indian democracy. If it is, why was Guru, whose number as prisoner on death row was 28, executed earlier?" Alleging that the state government had lost the moral authority to continue in office, Mehbooba said the Chief Minister had failed to protect the rights of Guru, a native of Jammu and Kashmir who had been hanged depriving him of full legal rights. She said the denial of the opportunity to the family to have a last meeting with Guru negated this right provided to every citizen and violated basic norms of decency. She said the state government was responsible for it, adding that the execution had given a major setback to peace initiatives taken over the years. Lashing out at the Chief Minister for surrendering his authority, the PDP leader alleged that he and his father Farooq Abdullah were playing to the gallery and had been pursuing the policy of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. They also boycotted Assembly proceedings for the day. Four NPP legislators, including a Member of the Legislative Council, also boycotted the Governor's address in protest against the alleged misgovernance and lack of accountability in the Omar Abdullah-led regime. There were noisy scenes in the Assembly again when Rasheed raised the issue of Guru's hanging as soon as the House assembled for the proceedings. Rebel BJP, BJP and JSM legislators were on their feet and demanded that Deputy Speaker Sartaj Madni should initiate action against Rasheed for creating disturbance in the House. He was marshalled out and order restored in the Assembly. |
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Govt enacted several landmark laws, says Governor
Jammu, February 28 Addressing the joint session of the two Houses, the Governor said the enactment and implementation of the J&K Right to Information Act, the Public Services Guarantee Act and the State Vigilance Commission Act were the landmark achievements of the
government. Vohra said the state government was conscious that the creation of employment opportunities in government and private sectors was one of its foremost duties. He said steps had been taken to strengthen the selection agencies for fast-tracking recruitment in government departments. The Governor said the government had secured the highest ever plan outlay of Rs 7,300 crore for the current financial year, besides the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for Centrally sponsored schemes, the highest ever, and would access over Rs 4,000 crore of Central funds. He said this would give the opportunity to deliver a capital expenditure of about Rs 12,000 crore during the current financial year, which would contribute to a significant increase in economic growth and a qualitative upgrade of social and economic infrastructure. He said as a result of the substantial capital investment, the economy of the state grew at 7 per cent compared to 6.87 per cent the previous year. It planned to take the GSDP growth to 8 per cent as soon as possible, he added. He said the government had taken various initiatives to the upgrade of infrastructure at various migrant camps for improving living conditions of migrants. The Governor said a record arrival of tourists was registered last year and foreign countries had begun to withdraw adverse travel advisories so that citizens could visit Jammu and Kashmir. In 2011, about 9 lakh tourists, including 32,000 foreigners, visited the state, he added. He said the number of domestic tourists grew to 12.2 lakh in 2012, with an increase of 16 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals. In 2012, 6.21 lakh persons from different parts of the country undertook the Amarnath pilgrimage and the number of pilgrims who visited Vaishno Devi crossed the 1 crore mark, he said. The Governor said the government must thank the people of the state for displaying exemplary courage and maturity, which made a major contribution in paving the way for the restoration of normalcy. He said the police and security forces had exhibited patience and professionalism in discharging their duties in trying circumstances without faltering in respecting and protecting the rights of the people. “Every segment of society has benefited from the restoration of the peaceful environment. Our educational system, which had been adversely affected, had moved back to fruitful functioning. Both the President and the Vice-President, who visited us last year, had the occasion to observe the functioning of our institutions of higher learning and expressed their appreciation of the work being done by our scholars. Businessmen, traders, artisans and the working class, all of whom had reaped the dividends of peace. If we continue to make sustained progress, I believe that the day is not far when the state will be among the top ones in the country,” he
said. Vohra said the incidence of violence had been declining progressively in the last two years. Terrorism-related incidents had decreased from 188 in 2011 to 118 in 2012, marking a decline of over 37 per cent, he said. He added that the figure of 31 civilian deaths in 2011 came down to 15 in 2012 and 33 security personnel lost their lives in 2011 and only 14 were killed in 2012. We owe our grateful thanks to the police and security forces whose untiring vigil along the border had resulted in the considerable reduction in attempts at infiltration, he said. He further said the government was concerned seriously about the protection of human rights. He said by permitting the use of only non-lethal weapons for controlling law and order disturbances, the strict enforcement of the recently devised standard operating procedures had been successful in ensuring that there was no collateral damage. The Governor said heads of various security forces were regularly briefed about the importance of upholding human rights and this objective had been reinforced by enacting the Protection of Human Rights Act. He said keeping in view progressive improvement in the situation on the ground, footprints of security forces were being gradually reduced. He said 1,430 government and private buildings, including hospital and school buildings, had been got vacated and restored to original owners with the process to vacate the remainder going on. |
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PDP moves adjournment motion, to disrupt proceedings
Jammu, February 28 The PDP moved an adjournment motion to suspend normal business to discuss the situation that emerged after Guru’s execution. Since the formation of the government in 2009, the PDP boycotted the address for the first time, which was an indication that it would rake up the issue of execution to corner the National Conference. “We have moved the motion to discuss the situation in the state in general and the Valley in particular after the hanging. The party also wants to discuss the delay in handing over Guru’s mortal remains to his family,” PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar said. PDP Legislature Party chief whip Gaffar Sofi said the motion had been delivered to the office of the Speaker. “It is our democratic and constitutional right to demand a discussion on any important issue,” he said. He made it clear that the PDP would not allow the Assembly to function normally if the adjournment motion was disallowed. PDP sources said the party had devised the strategy to take up vociferously the execution issue. “The party will raise strongly the demand of getting Guru’s mortal remains to consolidate its position in the Valley,” the sources said. The PDP spokesman said the party would adopt very democratic mean to get Guru’s mortal remains. The party is especially targeting Omar Abdullah on the issue. “The governments of Tamil Nadu and Punjab have opposed the death sentence to killers of Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh. The Jammu and Kashmir government has facilitated Guru’s execution instead,” he observed. Akhtar said the party boycotted the address to protest the inability of the state government to protect Guru’s rights. |
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Govt may allow discussion on Afzal Guru hanging in Assembly
Jammu, February 28 Sources said during a meeting of legislators of the coalition partners this evening, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sought suggestions from them to know how to counter the attack of the PDP on Afzal Guru issue. While majority of the National Conference MLAs were of the view that the discussion should be allowed in the House, some Congress legislators were worried over its fallout in the Jammu region which is a stronghold of the Congress, sources said. One of the
MLAs, who was present at the meeting, said on the condition of anonymity that Member of the Legislative Council from Poonch Jahangir Mir said there was a competition between the National Conference and the PDP on Afzal Guru issue but it was also the duty of the coalition partner to protect the interests of the Congress while taking any decision on the issue. The sources said during the meeting, the Chief Minister hinted that the government was ready to allow a discussion on the issue. He argued that if the PDP was not allowed to discuss the issue, they would try to exploit the situation for petty political gains. “After the meeting, it has announced that a meeting of senior National Conference and Congress leaders would be held late tonight to take a final decision,” a source said and added that Congress leaders would also discuss the issue with the party high command. A source saidall MLAs of the coalition partners would be informed about the decision on Friday morning, before the beginning of the House proceedings.
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New Assembly Speaker meets Guv
Jammu, February 28 He briefed the Governor about some issues, which would come up before the ongoing session of the Legislative Assembly. The Governor wished him a successful tenure. —
TNS
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Functioning of panchayats in state discussed
Jammu, February 28 The 11-member delegation, led by Shafiq Mir, chairman of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, discussed with the Governor to-date status of the functioning of the panchayats in the state and complained about the empowerment of
panchayats. The Governor was concerned about the security problems faced by sarpanches and
panches. The delegation was dissatisfied with the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment not so far been incorporated into the existing law for ensuring the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state. The Governor assured the Panchayat Conference that all the issues raised by it would be taken up with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The delegation comprised Anil Sharma, general secretary of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference; chief spokesperson Ghulam Hassan
Punzoo; Gautam Singh, Raj Dev Singh, Vimla Devi, Ghulam Mohammad Mir, Ajaz Ahmed, Avinash
Devi, Choudhary Mohammad Aslam Kohli and Jugal Mahajan. Navin K
Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor, was present on the occasion. |
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NC leaders in war of words over Geelani’s house arrest
Srinagar, February 28 Mustafa Kamal, younger brother of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, has taken a strong exception to comparison of their father, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, with Syed Ali Geelani. The Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Rattanpuri, had met the hardline Hurriyat chairman “from a distance” on Sunday last, as Geelani had been kept under house arrest following the secret execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9. Geelani was set free yesterday after 18 days of house arrest. Geelani and moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were kept under house arrest at their respective places in New Delhi, following Afzal’s execution. While Mirwaiz was released earlier, he continues to be under house arrest at his Nigeen residence since his return to Srinagar on February 21. The separatist organisations under the banner of the Joint Consultative Committee have been spearheading a protest programme in Kashmir against Afzal’s execution. Rattanpuri had described Geelani’s confinement as “illegal”. In his comments after “talking to Geelani from a distance”, he compared him to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah for his political stance, as Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was “jailed for 22 years for the same cause”. This is what received a strong resentment from Kamal, who has made a clear distinction between the two. In his letter to Kamal, which was circulated to media organisations here today, Rattanpuri described the former’s response as a “warning”. It begins: “I am not surprised to learn that you have chosen the medium of newspapers to communicate to me a warning for comparing SAS Geelani with SM Abdulla. I respect your concern for your father as much as I respect Naseem Geelani’s concern for his father.” Describing Geelani as a “worthy adversary of the National Conference”, Rattanpuri said: “I owe my respect for his (Geelani) steadfastness to his ideals. I may also clarify that I differ with the means that he has chosen, while I share many of his ideals.” |
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Tattered Tricolour flutters
on secretariat building
Jammu, February 28 The condition of the national flag was in total disregard of the Flag Code of India, which lays down guidelines for its proper display. Section-IV of the Flag code of India says a damaged or dishevelled flag should not be displayed and a new flag should replace it so that it could be placed in any government or private building. “It is a symbol of our national pride. Thousands of armed forces personnel have laid down their lives to keep the Tricolour flying in its full glory, but the situation at the secretariat was painful to see,” said a secretariat employee on the condition of anonymity. Flying a damaged flag is a total disrespect and violation of the guidelines laid by the Constitution of India and the Union Home Ministry. There is universal affection and respect for and loyalty to the national flag. Yet, a lack of awareness is often noticed, not
only among people but also in organisations and agencies of the government, with regard to laws, practices and conventions that apply to the display of the flag. The Union home ministry has laid down some guidelines to regulate the display of the flag, use of the national emblem and red beacon light on vehicles used by constitutional dignitaries and statutory authorities.
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Separatist groups call for shutdown in Valley today
Srinagar, February 28 While senior leaders of both factions of the Hurriyat Conference have been kept under house arrest, a Joint Consultative Committee of various organisations chalked out a protest programme to impress upon the government to hand over Afzal’s mortal remains to his family. The Parliament attack convict was executed in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 9, evoking a strong reaction in Kashmir. In its prompt preventive measures, the government had imposed restrictions in all 10 districts, including the capital city of Srinagar. These restrictions were lifted gradually in the wake of the improvement in the situation, despite several incidents of clashes between protesters and security forces. As part of its programme, the Joint Consultative Committee, earlier this week, called for a general strike and protests on Friday. The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front had also called for a shutdown call tomorrow in support of its demand for the return of the mortal remains of its founder leader, Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, who was executed in Tihar Jail on February 11, 1984, and that of Afzal. Chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani, who was set free on Wednesday after 18 days of house arrest in New Delhi since February 9, is expected to continue to stay there. “He would meet his party colleagues after he returns to Srinagar,” said a Hurriyat spokesman. He said any decision for the future programme would be taken after “proper consultations”. The spokesman said the Hurriyat Conference supported the protest programme chalked out by the Joint Consultative Committee. |
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Hyderabad Blasts
Jammu, February 28 The police arrested Mohammed Salahuddin of Fateh Darwaza in Hyderabad near a government school in the Ramban area on February 26 for suspicious behaviour. “He is a suspicious character and was roaming near a government school in Ramban without purpose when we detained him,” Ramban-Doda-Kishtwar range DIG Garib Dass said. After he was put to sustained questioning, the state police alerted the Andhra Pradesh Police, which was expected to arrive here this evening or tomorrow, he said. Though no direct link between him and the blasts had emerged yet, they were waiting for the team of the Andhra Pradesh Police to come and question him to verify his antecedents, he added. He said Salahuddin had claimed that he was working as accountant with a private firm in Saudi Arabia for the last over six years and returned on January 23 this year to Hyderabad from where he went missing, the DIG said. He added that Salahuddin was a postgraduate in accountancy and his family lodged a missing person report complaint at the Hussaini Alam police station on January 26. Dass said how and why Salahuddin had come to Jammu and Kashmir was a mystery as he was neither a tourist nor a state resident. The DIG said the suspect had claimed that he came to the state on a call from God. “We recovered two SIM cards, one of a company in Saudi Arabia and another of Aircel, a pen drive, nearly 5,000 riyals and about the same amount of Indian currency from him,” the DIG said. He further said, “We are working on the two SIM cards. The pen drive contains religious hymns, a sort of propagating material. He remains a suspect for us and we cannot say anything more at this juncture till the time the Andhra Pradesh Police quizzes him. His wavering replies, suspicious behaviour, timing of arrival to Hyderabad, going missing and presence in Jammu and Kashmir without purpose aroused our suspicion.” |
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Chenab drinking water project gains momentum
Jammu, February 28 All bottlenecks coming in the way of project will be cleared and work will start soon. To take stock of the physical status and alignment of the project, Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma recently visited the proposed project site to have a on-the-spot study of the situation. He discussed the pros and cons of the project with the officers concerned and instructed them to clear all hurdles for the finalisation of the project. He directed them to start the process of land acquisition for the filtration plant, laying of pipes and creating the infrastructure for developing the water station. In order to expedite the entire process, Sharma ordered the constitution of a committee of departments concerned which will work in close coordination and clear all bottlenecks. He directed the CEO, ERA, Chief Engineer, PHE, and the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, to complete the land acquisition process at the earliest so that the project is forwarded to the funding agency. Since the project was conceived a long ago and it can’t brook any further delay, he directed the officers to dispose of
all issues in a time-bound manner. While interacting with mediapersons after inspecting the site of the project, he said the project was
prepared to augment the drinking water scenario of Jammu, but it could not be taken up by the successive regimes due to certain reasons. Now, in view of growing needs of water due to widespread migration of people from different parts of the state and sinking water resources, the government has decided to take up this prestigious project. He said the project had been proposed to lift up to 200 cusecs of water from the Chenab in two phases and the first phase was likely to be accomplished by 2016. The project cost for the first phase has been estimated at Rs 771 crore and it will be funded by NABARD. On completion, the drinking water scenario of Jammu city will improve significantly, he added. Earlier, he inspected the Ranjan Lift Irrigation Scheme and directed the engineers to explore full potential of the scheme as per its original design capacity. He issued instructions for making all the pumps operational to augment the discharge capacity so that water reaches up to the tail end to achieve the objective of the canal. He also ordered to undertake necessary renovation of the water station and proper upkeep of assets. |
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Pilgrimage to PoK shrine: Migrant Pandits to seek support in Valley
Srinagar, February 28 “We have spoken to many persons in Kashmir and nobody is against our demands. In fact, people of the Valley are with us and support our demands. We will visit Kashmir next month and meet members of the civil society and a cross-section of people to build a consensus to press for our demands,” APMCC chairman Vinod Pandit said. Pandit has come back after taking part in the hunger strike at Porbandar. He said the strike had been called off after Minister of State, Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Ajaz Ahmad Khan had assured them that their demands would be looked into. He said they would intensify protests if the state government did not agree to the APMCC demands in the near future. The APMCC demands include a dialogue with Pakistan to facilitate pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth temple. Other demands include establishment of Sharda Peeth University in the state, passing of the pending Kashmir Temples and Shrines Bill, special employment package for non-migrant Pandits and one-time compensation for over-aged Kashmiri migrant youth.
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3 killed in road mishap in Ramban
Banihal, February 28 The accident occurred at Digdool this morning when the vehicle was on its way to Jammu from
Srinagar, the police said here. All the three died instantly and their bodies have been recovered, it said. Meanwhile, Governor NN Vohra has expressed grief over the loss of human lives in a road accident on the
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. In his condolence message, the Governor conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also expressed grief over the loss of young human lives. In his condolence message, he conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls. —
PTI/TNS
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Governor NN Vohra today said the government had enacted several landmark legislations to enforce efficiency, transparency and accountability in the delivery of public services to the people even as he noted the need to create employment opportunities as among the foremost duties of the government.
Senior National Conference legislator Mubarak Gul was today unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Jammu, February 28
Jammu, February 28
A delegation of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, an organisation of panches and
sarpanches, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and presented to him a memorandum of its demands.
