Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 27: All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) held a meeting here, today in which J&K UT Government’s apathetic attitude towards Kashmiri Pandits was criticised.
Advocate Ravinder Raina, president ASKPC condemned the malafide intentions of J&K Government and said that Kashmiri Pandit PM Package employees were refused passes for celebrating the Navreh festival with their parents in Jammu division despite Union Home Ministry’s guidelines. On the other hand Kashmiri Muslim Civil Secretariat employees serving in Jammu were allowed to move to Kashmir for attending their parents during Ramzan. It was serious concern as this attitude of Government will never be tolerated, he added.
Advocate Raina condemned Central Governments for recent 2020 domicile law of Jammu and Kashmir UT.
He said before August 5 last year, 35-A of the Constitution empowered J&K Assembly to define a J&K resident, who alone were eligible to apply for jobs or own immovable property. The definition expands to include children of those Central Government officials, All India Services officers, officials of PSUs and autonomous body of Central Government, Public Sector Banks, officials of statutory bodies, officials of Central Universities and recognized research institutes of Central Government who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years or their children on parents who fulfill any of the conditions in sections.
He said additionally, persons registered as a migrant by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) in the UT of J&K will also be included in the definition. Children of such residents of J&K as residents outside UT of J&K in connection with their employment or business or other professional or vocational reasons but their parents fulfill any of the conditions provided earlier.
Raina said this law ceases rights of thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families for being domicile of J&K because one or the other reason they lack some requisite qualifications for seeking domicile certificate.
Raina demanded domicile law 2020 should be changed so that irrespective of date of exodus all Kashmiri Pandits could get domicile certificate of J&K.