Call for release of detainees with no serious charge
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 16: Three National Conference MPs in Rajya Sabha today met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and demanded notification of Business Rules in Jammu and Kashmir, restoration of Statehood in line with Supreme Court observations, review of the policy of lodging prisoners in distant prisons outside the Union Territory and release of all those prisoners against whom no serious charges have been established.
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The NC’s Rajya Sabha members including Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan, party leader in the House, Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo and Gurwinder Singh Oberoi submitted a written two-page memorandum to Shah during the meeting listing their demands.
NC also has two members in Lok Sabha including Aga Ruhullah Mehdi (Srinagar) and Mian Altaf (Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri). However, they were not part of the delegation. Aga is not keeping good terms with the National Conference.
“Despite the formation of an elected Government, the Business Rules governing functioning of the administration in Jammu and Kashmir have not yet been notified. This absence has resulted in ambiguity, overlap of authority, and uncertainty in governance, thereby impeding effective decision-making and public accountability,” the memorandum addressed to the Union Home Minister and signed by Ramzan, said.
Asserting that non-notification of Business Rules has also diluted the authority of elected representatives and undermined the spirit of representative democracy, the NC MPs, who have been attending their first session of Parliament after being elected in October this year, demanded notification of Business Rules at the earliest, so that governance is conducted smoothly, transparently and in accordance with democratic norms and Constitutional propriety.
The NC MPs reiterated their demand for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir saying the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have, on the floor of the House and on various occasions, unequivocally assured the nation that full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir shall be restored.
These assurances, they said, have been received with hope and trust by the people of the Union Territory.
“Following successful conduct of Assembly elections and establishment of an elected Government, the people of Jammu and Kashmir now legitimately expect that assurances given by the Government and recorded by the Supreme Court on December 11, 2023 while adjudicating upon the challenges related to Article 370 and reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir, will be honored in letter and spirit,” the NC MPs said, adding that continued delay in restoring Statehood is causing democratic, administrative and emotional distress and increasingly felt as a denial of Constitutional dignity.
They urged the Central Government to initiate clear, concrete and time-bound steps for early restoration of full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, in keeping with Constitutional principles, judicial observations and assurances already given at the highest level.
The National Conference MPs also voiced concern over keeping prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir outside the UT and demanded release of those prisoners against whom no serious charges have been established.
“Representations received by us describe unimaginable hardship—long and exhausting journeys, humiliating procedures, harsh restrictions and endless waiting. We have met mother who only wish to see their sons once before they dies and children, who have grown up seeing their fathers, only in photographs. In several cases, detainees continue to remain incarcerated despite serious charges not having been proven,” the memorandum given by the NC MPs, read.
Maintaining that Kashmir is neither a born criminal, nor a threat, they said the Kashmir is a human being and an Indian citizen, deserving of dignity, justice and compassion. The continued lodging of prisoners far from their homes inflicts suffering not only on detainees but also on innocent families amounting to punishment for poverty rather than for guilt, they added.
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