Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Sept 27: Putting all speculations to rest, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today said that there will be no reshuffle in the BJP Ministry in the State.
Dr Singh, who returned from Union Capital today, in an informal chat with media persons here said that during his meeting with Party High Command in New Delhi he was informed that there will be no reshuffle among BJP Ministers’ in the State as Party has not taken any decision as yet in this regard.
It may be recalled that speculations were rife in the political circles for about a month that BJP High Command has decided to reshuffle the party Ministers in the State following the reports from various sections of the people about their “poor performance”.
The Party High Command had, deputed some senior leaders to the State including two party general secretaries and veteran leaders Ram Lal and Ram Madhav and Party vice president Incharge J&K Avinash Rai Khanna to take stock of the situation.
However, BJP High Command has now decided not to go for any reshuffle among the party Ministers in the State, Dr Singh said, adding that he held detailed meetings with party leadership in New Delhi in this regard as well as other important issues including the developmental projects under progress in the State.
Dr Singh also disclosed that the Union Government has assured all assistance to the State in timely completion of all developmental projects and schemes.
Union Power Minister, R K Singh is visiting the State on October 10 to review all power projects and schemes taken up in hand by the Government. He said as per the directives of Prime Minster all the 100 un-electrified villages comprising of 2.70 lakh houses in the J&K will be electrified by May next year. Out of them, 51 villages will be electrified by December this year, he added.
He said 22 to 24 clusters in Marwah –Warwan in Kishtwar district of Jammu region need 86 km long transmission line for their electrification while the Kalimasta village in Gool Ramban and Kanotha in Udhampur district were provided electricity recently by laying 13 km long transmission line.
On Tawi lake river project, Dr Singh accused the previous Government for its failure and alleged that the project was taken up in hand without taking its feasibility into consideration. This project has turned out a big scam and the crores of rupees spent on it by previous Government have gone down the drain as the same could not withstand the flood furry.
He said the coalition Government has now changed the proposal by integrating the Tawi River Re-conservation Project (River Front) with the lake project to make it feasible and tourist attraction spot. All formalities with regard to this Rs 1000 crore project which will be constructed on the pattern of Sabarmati lake have been completed and the work on the project will start by ending this year or early next year.
Taking a dig on opposition parties including NC and Congress, he said those who were responsible for Maharaja’s ouster from the State are today drumbeating for declaration of holiday on his birthday.
“It was BJP which constructed the statue of Maharaja in Jammu and Congress later tried to take political advantage of the same when Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Chief Minister of the State. It was BJP which introduced the Dogri into 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution when Congress failed to do the same during its six decades rule in the country’’, he added.
Nirmal Singh, while lambasting both Congress and NC said that they even did not allow the Maharaja’s body to be brought into the State and today they are claiming to be his well wishers.
Singh said that many reforms have taken place in the State during over last two years of PDP-BJP Government and it will take some time to do the good the wrongs done in last 70 years by the NC and Congress governments and the changes can’t be visible within a day. “We know the people have many aspirations and expectations from us and we will do our best to come up to their expectations. This needs some time as the mind set of officers has to be changed also’’, he added.
He said many new projects have been taken up in hand like establishment of IIT and IIM Jammu, Zoo, while laying of Jalandhar, Samba and Amargarh transmission line is running 18 months in advance, DPRs for Lakhanpur –Dhunera National Highway via Basholi and Dayala Chak and Challa NH have been completed and the alignment of New Delhi –Amritsar and Katra Expressway Corridor has been approved, he added.
Singh said that work is going on in double shifts on Bus Stand multi tier parking while the work on Peer Kho and Panjtirthi multi tier parking will be started soon. Besides, Rs 150 crore have been earmarked for habitat Centre Jammu in Smart city project.
He denied that there is any controversy over Shahpur Kandi Project and its agreement with Punjab is final now. “With the construction of this project the fate of farming community in Kathua and Samba district will change and signing of agreement with Punjab is a great achievement of the coalition Government”, he added.
PTI adds from New Delhi: Nirmal Singh alleged that Farooq Ahmad Dar, who was used by the Army as a human shield, was a “mastermind and a leader of stone pelters”.
Singh’s comments contradict the Jammu and Kashmir Police which had said in a report that Dar, who had gone to cast his vote, was a victim of “wrongful confinement”.
“I don’t know about the report. But he was a mastermind and leader of stone pelters. Though as a Government we do not support the means (human shield), we support Major Gogoi for making his intentions clear and positive,” Singh told reporters, claiming that everything is “fair in love and war”.
“It is a proxy war,” he added.
The Deputy CM was in the national capital to take part in a lecture, ‘Peace in Jammu and Kashmir: Challenges and Opportunities’, in JNU.
The Army had said that Gogoi had decided to use Dar as a human shield by tying him on the bonnet of his jeep to deter stone pelters.
On the Rohingya issue, he claimed that they were foreigners who had “illegally” entered India and the State Government was taking all steps to remove them under the direction of the Centre.
“They have illegally entered India and have a presence in Jammu and Samba districts. The State is working on shifting them as there was a potential of Pakistan using them as terrorists,” he claimed.
During the lecture, he highlighted the importance of Sufism in Kashmir and how the region was developing as a peace constituency.
“Sufism is the soul of Kashmir and there are lot of development activities which have gone unheard of,” said Singh who criticised separatist leaders in Kashmir for complicating issues.
Efforts were being made to revive Sufism and Shaivism in Kashmir which, he said, was the way forward.
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