Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 11: The Kishtwar violence and subsequent deterioration of situation across Jammu region has invited more reactions by various political and social organizations besides prominent individuals who have strongly condemned the incident and appealed people to maintain peace and communal harmony.
Madan Lal Sharma, Member Parliament from Jammu-Poonch Constituency, has appealed the people of both communities to maintain peace and harmony for the larger interests of the nation.
Advising people not to pay heed to rumours, the MP demanded that State Government should take permanent measures and device a fool proof strategy so that such incidents do not occur in future. He opined for developing standard operating procedures (SOP’s) by Home Department to deal such incidents and demanded action against the people who could not control the situation well in time. He also demanded suitable compensation to the victims of this fury and strict action against those who will figure in the probe being conducted by the Divisional Commissioner Jammu.
Denouncing the violence, the former Union Minister and MLA, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta has asked all the concerned to observe restraint and maintain harmony. He, however deplored the Government authorities for creating martial law like conditions in Jammu city to harass the people even in those areas where there was no violence and thus, to cover up their own failures to act against the anti-national elements in Kishtwar and other places where such people had been raising highly objectionable slogans and challenging the integrity of the country.
He said it was highly intriguing that loot, arson and violence erupted in Kishtwar when the Minister of State for Home was there in his home town.
JKNPP founder Prof Bhim Singh called on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh this afternoon and apprised him of the dangerous situation that has arisen in J&K due to the total collapse of the State Government headed by Omar Abdullah following Kishtwar violence. He accused both the ruling NC and opposition BJP for the communalizing the situation as it suits both in their electoral permutations.
Senior Congress leader and former Minister Yogesh Sawhney while expressing his grave concern over deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir State, demanded an impartial judicial probe into the lapse that led to communal violence in Kishtwar. He said that an inquiry by Divisional Commissioner is merely an eyewash and the entire situation must be got investigated independently by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Sawhney said that the situation was deteriorating with each passing hour and Government was behaving like a mute spectator. The lapse in Kishtwar that led to violence is condemnable and by merely shifting Deputy Commissioner or SSP, Kishtwar, Government cannot wash its hands off this wreck that was unleashed in mountainous town.
Mr Sawhney claimed that it was because of timely intervention of Ghulam Nabi Azad that situation could be brought under control. At a time when state or district administration had collapsed it was Azad who personally took initiative and brought the situation under control.
JKDF State president Anil Gupta termed the Kishtwar incident as preplanned and a conspiracy to ethnically cleanse the minorities from the region. The unfortunate happenings which erupted into communal violence has created the atmosphere similar to 1990-93 when minorities were forced to migrate from the region due to influx of militancy, he said and warned that JKDF would not allow the anti-nationals to again create that situations of nineties in this erstwhile Doda district. “We are firmly behind the minorities of the region. JKDF shall take all steps which it shall deem fit to restore the confidence of minorities of this hilly district,” he maintained and demand impartial inquiry of Kishtwar violence from retired Judge of Supreme Court to ascertain the real facts behind the incident and role of Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo.
Condemning violence in all parts of Jammu region, Vice-Chancellor of BGSBU Rajouri Prof I A Hamal has said that intellectual class from all communities should come forward at this juncture to establish trust among the communities in order to avoid more damage in future.
In his statement issued here, VC has termed communal violence incidents as unfortunate and expressed serious concern over the post violence situation. He said that there is a dire need that intellectual class in all communities should come forward and play their role in maintaining peace and harmony and bridging the gap which has been created among people of different communities following violence.
Strongly condemning the Kishtwar violence that led to prevailing situation in Jammu region, State president of Youth Congress Shahnawaz Choudhary has appealed the Union Home Ministry to ensure a fair probe into the incident.
In a statement, Mr Shahnawaz stressed that culprits of the Kishtwar violence must be punished sternly to ensure that such elements may not resort to such attempts of vitiating atmosphere and communal harmony. He also appealed people to come forward and play constructive role in maintaining peace and brotherhood in the State.
Duggar Pradesh Party while condemning the communal violence in Kishtwar and other places in Jammu division, strongly urged the Central Government to immediately promulgate Governor Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Party also demanded that a criminal case for murder, communal hatred, violence, arson, looting be registered against local MLA and MoS Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo who was personally supervising, leading the communal violence full day and intentionally not allowed to clamp curfew well in time to the Deputy Commissioner. Uday Chand, president of the Party said there are many actors and directors who are involved in creating such an ugly situation. He appealed people to maintain communal harmony at all costs
The State Council of All India Trade Union Congress expressed its deep concern on the grave situation in Kishtwar town in which some miscreants have resorted into loot, arson, personal attack on communal lines resulting into loss of lives and property worth crores of rupees.
Mere transfer of Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police will not restore the peace in and around the town. We demand that the present Coalition Government should be dismissed immediately and Governor’s Rule is imposed besides independent enquiry is initiated through sitting judges of Supreme Court or High Court, AITUC said in a statement.
Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum (JKDF) president Pandit Bhushan Bazaz has strongly condemned the Kishtwar violence and said that the Government should immediately order a CBI probe into it to bring the culprits to book.
He alleged that the entire episode was pre-planned conspiracy to polarize society and it needed to be investigated. It is quite unfortunate that Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, who is also the local MLA, was camping in the town for the past couple of days and still the incident took place, Bazaz added.
CPI (M) State secretary Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami and PDF chairman Hakeem Mohammed Yaseen have expressed serious concern over the deteriorating situation in Kishtwar and other areas of Jammu region. They appealed people in general and political social religious organizations and civil society in particular to come forward and act unitedly for restoration of peace and communal harmony in the affected areas.
It is time that all the secular democratic and enlightened forces must intervene effectively to prevent the situation from getting further deteriorated. We must ensure that communal and divisive forces of all hues do not succeed in dividing our people. The people must remain vigilant and should not allow themselves to get swayed by rumor mongers and provocations of divisive elements inimical to peace and tranquility, they added.
The PDF provincial president Tej Ram Dogra has also expressed serious concern over the Kishtwar violence and demanded adequate compensation to the affected families besides stern action against those who allowed the situation to worsen.
Expressing great concern over Kishtwar violence, chairman Jammu Kashmir Pahari Forum Sayed Mushtaq Bukhari today called upon the people to maintain brotherhood and communal harmony at any cost to frustrate designs of the forces who are trying to harm the century old brotherhood.
In a joint statement, issued by Mushtaq Bukhari, Shahbaz Khan, Vijay Kochhar and Advocate R K Mehta, the Pahari leaders stressed that there was need to further strengthen the tradition of tolerance and brotherhood among various communities living in Peer Panchhal and Chenab Valley regions.
All executive members of Private Schools Association, including chairman Prof J L Kotwal, president Kamal Gupta and secretary cum coordinator Ajay Gupta have appealed to all section of society to maintain communal harmony and peace in the entire state and condemn all type of violence.
In a statement, secretary PSA Jammu said it was a deep rooted conspiracy to create unrest among the masses by some of the miscreants but it is duty of all to develop a sense of unity in diversity. Such events cast irrevocable shadow on the growth of young generation and hence the Association appeals Government to take all preventive measures to restore normalcy in the region, he added.
State president of Jammu and Kashmir Milchar Front, Shambu Nath Saproo has strongly condemned the Kishtwar violence and termed it unfortunate for the State. Urging people of the State to maintain harmony and brotherhood, he demanded punishment to the officers who failed to take timely action.
Jammu and Kashmir Unity Foundation has strongly condemned the violence unleashed in Kishtwar, Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri by communal forces and appealed the saner elements to intervene for restoration of peace. In a statement, JKUF convener Ajaat Jamwal urged the people of Kishtwar and Jammu to maintain harmony and brotherhood to bring back peace and asked the Government to allow all the nationalist and state leaders to jointly visit the affected areas to urge the people for peace at all levels.
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