‘31 member PSC too gives priority to Kashmir’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 21: Pointing towards the visit of 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) including Union Ministers and several Govt officials to Kashmir to deliberate tourism promotion besides road, rail and hospitality infrastructure, JKNPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh regretted that Jammu had been dumped once again by the saffron regime.
Addressing a press conference here today Singh said that reports appearing in the media had indicated that the Central delegation would hold discussions with various stake holders and officers for giving a boost to economic activity in Kashmir which will be attended by the Union Minister of State for North East and PM’s office as well. “The delegation is further reported to hold meetings with representatives of various political parties in the Valley to elicit their opinion relating to development of tourism, National Highways, culture, civil aviation and railway safety which was a welcome move.
But why the Central team and PSC had again chosen to give a preferential treatment to Kashmir while ignoring Jammu altogether from its itinerary and that too in a situation when the ‘Darbar’ had shifted to the winter capital with the Civil Secretariat and all allied offices and major Heads of Deptts stationed in Jammu”?, questioned Singh.
Pointing towards a slew of measures announced by the Centre after scrapping of the special status, Harsh Dev said that almost all of them related to Kashmir without even mentioning the name of Jammu region. Pointing towards the visit of high level team of Union Human Resource Ministry to valley immediately after abrogation of Art 370, Singh said that it merely talked of expansion of educational facilities in Kashmir region including schools, colleges, skill development centres and professional institutes. The said team failed to even visit Jammu thereby drawing flak from educationists of the region, divulged Singh.
Accusing the Centre of persisting with its policy of appeasement of a highly pampered Kashmir even after scrapping Art 370, Harsh Dev cautioned it to refrain from taking Jammu region for granted. He said that Jammu region suffered not only in terms of new development schemes post Art 370 abrogation, but its identity crisis had further deepened in view of Kashmir alone being cited in all references to the erstwhile state without Dogra land finding even a mention in such statements.
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