Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 31: Four Union Ministers, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and several bigwigs from various political parties would be part of All Party Delegation, which will visit Jammu and Kashmir on September 4 and 5 to assess ground situation in the Valley, where unrest today entered into 54th day having consumed 71 lives and leading more than 8000 injured, half of them para-military and police personnel.
The Home Ministry has so far received 22 names for the delegation as two leading parties of Uttar Pradesh-Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have not given their names to be part of the delegation on different pretexts.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be heading the delegation, which will have Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Home in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh as three official members of the delegation.
Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan will be part of the delegation as representative of his Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).
Asaduddin Owaisi, president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Tariq Anwar (Nationalist Congress Party) and Badrudin Ajmal of All India United Democratic Front are also part of the delegation, sources said.
Other prominent leaders, who have been nominated to the delegation by their political parties, included Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal-United), D Raja (CPI), Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Prem Singh Chandumajra (Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal), Prof Saugata Roy (All India Trinamool Congress), Thota Narasimhan (Telegu Desam Party), Dileep Tirkey (Biju Janata Dal), Jitender Reddy (Telangana Rashtriya Samiti), Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Dushyant Chautala (Indian National Lok Dal) and Suba Reddy (YSR-Congress).
The Congress, which is major opposition party in the country and second major opposition in Jammu and Kashmir, will have three members in the delegation. The party has cleared the name of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and told the Union Home Ministry officials that it would be sending remaining two names in the next couple of days. The Congress is reportedly considering the names of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Party in Lok Sabha, Malikarjun Khadge, Dr Karan Singh, Rajya Sabha member and P Chidambaram, Rajya Sabha member and former Union Home Minister among others.
In the All Party Meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Jammu and Kashmir situation on August 22, Congress had deputed Manmohan Singh, Azad and Kharge.
Sources said Samajwadi Party, whose leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav had attended the All Party Meeting called by the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir, has so far not conveyed name of any party leader to the Union Home Minister for inclusion in the delegation. However, it has extended support to the Centre Government’s initiatives to restore peace and normalcy in Kashmir.
Similarly, the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), whose leader Satish Chander Mishra had attended the All Party Meeting in New Delhi, has also not conveyed name of any party leader to the Home Ministry for accompanying the delegation to Jammu and Kashmir on the ground that the party is holding a rally in Uttar Pradesh and its date clashed with the visit of the delegation.
The delegation will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir on September 4 and 5. However, according to sources, the Home Ministry was in consultations with the State Government on the delegation’s visit to Jammu in the afternoon of September 5.
“If the visit didn’t mature to Jammu, the delegations of Jammu region could be taken to Kashmir to meet the all party members,” sources said, adding final schedule of the visit of the delegation will be approved by the Home Ministry, in consultations with the State Government, in the next couple of days,” sources said.
As reported today, the delegation will be briefed on September 3 by the Home Ministry as by then all members, who would visit Jammu and Kashmir, will be clear.
The delegation will adopt the formula of meeting all political parties, religious, social, trade, student organization etc under the concept of `Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat’ set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the lines of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and endorsed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The Prime Minister has already made it clear that the Centre will hold talks on Kashmir within the ambit of Constitution of India.
However, according to sources, the delegation members in their individual capacity could meet the separatist leaders.
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