Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, Nov 15: In a significant initiative towards addressing the issues of West Pakistan refugees along with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and other refugees, the Centre has categorically directed the State Government that it should ensure grant of citizenship and Permanent Resident rights to West Pakistan refugees and take immediate and effective steps in this regard.
These observations have been made by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) while returning the package of Rs 9096 crores, which was hastily approved by National Conference-Congress coalition Government at the fag end of its tenure.
Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami on behalf of the Centre has asked the State Government to reframe the package by including West Pakistan refugees in it as they had been completely ignored by the State Government while sending the package to the Government of India just days before announcement of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources told the Excelsior.
However, they admitted that the package for refugees was now likely to linger on as there was only an acting Government in the State now in view of imposition of Model Code of Conduct in the State and a decision on re-drafting the package can be taken only by the new Government, which would take charge only in January after completion of election process.
“The new Government will also like to take some time to study observations of the Government of India before reaching a decision,” sources said, adding that till then fate of the package would keep hanging in balance. The fresh package would also depend on new dispensation, which would take over reign of affairs in the State after the Assembly elections.
The Centre’s directive to the State Government came after a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee in New Delhi under the chairmanship of P Bhattacharya, Congress member of Rajya Sabha, a day before. Goswami gave presentation to the Committee on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP members in the Committee including Avinash Rai Khanna, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, raised the issue of neglect of West Pakistan refugees vociferously in the meeting. While fully supporting the package for PoK, 1947, 1965 and 1971 refugees, the BJP members were of the view that issues of West Pakistani refugees should also be addressed, who have been neglected by NC-Congress coalition Government.
BJP members charged that the State Government has done nothing for refugees during past six years and just forwarded the package to the Centre at the end of its tenure. “Had the State Government been serious, it would have taken the initiative earlier instead of referring the issue to Sagheer Committee,” they asserted.
Sources, however, admitted that grants of citizenship and Permanent Resident rights to West Pakistan refugees would require two-third majority in the Assembly.
Though the issue of package for other refugees has lingered on for the time being, sources said, even the Centre Government couldn’t have announced the package at the time when Model Code of Conduct was in force in the State.
It was on October 16 that the State Government after prolonged delay and many hiccups had approved a package worth Rs 9096 crores for forwarding to the Centre for the refugees of PoK, 1947, 1965 and 1971 but ignored the West Pakistan refugees.
Rs 9096 crores worth package proposed one time settlement in favour of 36384 PoK/Chhamb families at the rate of Rs 25 lakh per family.
Prominent among 21 members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee members included P Bhattacharya, chairman (Congress), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Baishnab Parida (BJD), Avinash Rai Khanna, Satya Pal Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Dilip Patel, Harish Chander Meena (all BJP), D Raja (CPI), Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Derek O Brien (TMC), Satish Chander Mishra (BSP) and K Rahman Khan (Congress).

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, Nov 15: Minister of State for External Affairs and former Army Chief General (Retd) V K Singh today appealed to separatist to come forward for a dialogue for sake of betterment of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that time is not ripe for revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the State.
While addressing a press conference in Srinagar, the Minister asked the separatist leaders to come forward and engage with them for the sake of the State. “Come forward and let us find a way which should be good for Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Singh, however, said that the separatists don’t come forward.  “Anybody can come and meet us. The biggest problem is that they don’t come up,” he said.
The Minister said that his party will do well in the State as the successive Governments have not brought development for the people. “I am quite sure that the people, like rest of the country, will choose development as the main plank. The party will do extremely well because none of the parties, mainstream or otherwise in Jammu and Kashmir has brought in development for people,” he added.
Singh said that no party has benefitted the people of the State and time has come for them to choose a party that fulfils their developmental needs. “None of them has benefited the people so far and so I think a time has come for the people to choose a party which will stand by them in the developmental needs of the State,” he said.
Targeting the State Government for not providing succor to the people during floods, Singh said: “We have seen what has happened in the recent floods… I can keep narrating incidents to you where the Governments have floundered out here. And these are the parties which are saying that they want to get maximum seats in the elections.”
The Minister said that the ultimate aim of the Central Government is to transfer money directly to the bank accounts of flood victim is to annihilate the brokers who take undue advantage and deprive the victims from the sum which they deserve. “We want to ensure that the assistance that will come from the Union Government should reach to the deserved ones,” he added.
Questioning the assessment of floods loses in Jammu and Kashmir by the State Government, Singh asked it to explain what yardstick they have adopted in assessing these losses. “If State Government wants a package of Rs 44,000 crores for the flood victims, then it has to complete all the formalities. Has State Government collected whole data about the devastation that floods caused?  Did it mention how many houses were destroyed and did it include people in this process. What yardstick was adopted for the assessment of the losses?”
The Minister said that that revocation of Article 370 was never a poll plank of BJP but it was only development that was the poll plank of BJP. “Our party had said that we should relook at all the issues in the country that are source of nuisance and had never claimed that we will revoke or amend Article 370,” he said.
Singh said that his party wants a discussion on various such things for the benefit of the people of the country. “Article 370 is there in the country, is part of the constitution. All that we said in the party at some point of time that there are lot of such things in the country which need to be discussed so that we can ensure that these work for the benefit of the people,” he said.
The former Army Chief said that the time is not opportune for the revocation of AFSPA. “The way people are being intimidated and asked to boycott the polls clearly indicates that time is not ripe for the revocation of AFSPA. Let the Assembly elections be over and a time will come this law will be repealed,” he added.
On his Kashmir visit, Singh said that he has come here to meet the people who are in the party and those who are fighting the polls.  “I have come here to meet our people who are in the party organisation. I have come here to meet the people who are our candidates and get a feel how things are going,” he said.
On the issue of Hindu Chief Minister raised by certain parties, the BJP leader said only insecure political leaders talk about such things. “When people start feeling insecure they start talking of such things. No sane political leader, no mature political leader will ever talk of things like this,” he said.
On posters that appeared in parts of Kashmir asking people to stay away from polls, Singh said: “When people start putting up posters it shows that they are absolutely insecure. They know their influence is going down.”
The BJP leader said that everyone wants development and better life style and it is not going to come through separatists and militants. “I am quite sure people of Kashmir want development, people of Kashmir want a similar type of lifestyle which rest of the country enjoys. They want all facilities which should come and these are not going to come by Hizbul Mujahideen, they are not going to come by any separatists who have some other agendas,” he said.
Singh said that development can be ensured when people take part in the democratic process by electing a Government that can do something for their betterment. He kept the option of post poll alliance for the formation of Government in the State open. “Let the polls get over, we will decide. These things will only come up once the elections take place and we come to know how the things are”, he added.

Fayaz Bukhari

Srinagar, Nov 15: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today blamed his coalition partner Congress and opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for not supporting him in the revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the State.
While speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an election rally at Ganderbal that is going to vote in the first phase of 5-phase elections in the State, Omar said had the two parties supported him on the issue of AFSPA something could have been achieved.
“Had they extended their complete support to us, perhaps we could have talked on a unified platform and we could have achieved something. But they did not, they saw politics in it and thought that its credit would go to the NC and they would be at loss, so they opposed it,” Chief Minister said.
Omar said that he tried his best to achieve his goal but couldn’t do it. “I say this that I have not been able to do it. It is not something which is hidden. I tried my best. If I had lacked in my efforts then people would have said so. But unfortunately, we couldn’t do it. But if not in this Government, then in the next one, we will do it,” he said.
Chief Minister said that except former Home Minister, P Chidambaram, no one from Congress party supported him. “There are no two thoughts. Though I cannot say that Congress was not with me because no one helped me in this the way Chidambaram did”, he said.
Omar said: “I wish there were one or two more Ministers like Chidambaram in the Cabinet Committee on Security, then today we would have come a long way forward in the revocation of AFSPA.”
Chief Minister, however, said while Chidambaram failed to convince his Cabinet colleagues at the Centre, I could not convince my Cabinet colleagues from Congress.
Omar said that PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, didn’t support him and instead asked him to talk to armed forces for its revocation.  “When I talked about revocation of AFSPA, the PDP president said that you cannot do it as such and will have to take the advice of the forces. Whatever, they say today, let them, but they did not support us that time”, he added.
Chief Minister said that PDP didn’t support him as the opposition party saw politics in it and thought the credit would go to the NC.
Earlier while addressing a party rally at Ganderbal, Omar said that he is surprised at Congress taking credit of all goods things which the Government did during last six years and attributes bad things to the NC. “They are picking and choosing the good things done by my Government and publicizing them as their achievements while at the same time criticizing NC for things ironically they couldn’t themselves deliver on”, he said.
Chief Minister said that NC and Congress were together for six years but they take credit for creation of Administrative units. “Some people who are opposing us today are the ones who were in the Government with us for the last six years. We created new administrative units, but they are taking credit”, he added.
Omar said a Congress Minister put the blame of floods on the Chief Minister when it was his party colleague who was in charge of the concerned department. “It is fine with me when I was held responsible for the floods, but what about the development then? The credit too should go to me then”, he asked.
The Chief Minister said that the Congress says the roads were built by them. They claim credit for new administrative units, for healthcare and employment. “Is this justice that they claim credit for developmental works while holding me responsible for the floods?” he asked.
Omar said that he pushed for pro-people measures despite constraints of coalition politics. “While one may understand the need for Congress to do so given their political worries, the people are not as gullible as they might think them to be. The people know that it was National Conference that relentlessly and inexorably pushed all pro-people measures through the constraints of coalition politics time and again during the last six years despite regular hesitation and hurdles that we had to encounter”, he added.
Chief Minister welcomed, the life sentences handed over to the Army personnel in the Machil fake encounter case. He said that this was a vindication of NC’s struggle for justice for the families of the Machil victims. “We never gave up on our demand for justice in the Machil case and we never surrendered our protest until a case was registered against the accused troops. We welcome this verdict and assure the people that we will continue to ask for the re-opening of the Pathribal Case as well and will always fight for the cause of justice and the truth”, he said.
Omar lashed out PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for trying to play “both sides of the game”. “He made a melodramatic appeal to militants asking them to surrender and later sent them to graves”, he said.
Chief Minister said that Mufti’s healing touch started with lie and ended with a betrayal with the youth of this State. “PDP opposed the Rehabilitation Policy for our youth who had crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control and wanted to return to their homes and normal lives. We supported that resolution while PDP opposed it and today more than 300 of our youth have returned from across the LoC under this rehabilitation policy”, he added.
Highlighting his achievements, Omar said: “Similarly we changed the system of giving passports and made as many relaxations as we possibly could for facilitating the kith and kin of ex-militants to get their passports. These youth were blacklisted by the Mufti Government and were denied their basic right to a passport during the PDP-Congress Government. While there might be cases where passports couldn’t be made available yet, there are thousands and thousands of cases of previously blacklisted applicants receiving passports in our tenure due to our persistent efforts. These are significant, concrete initiatives we have taken for our youth and for the spirit of reconciliation.”
Chief Minister said: “For 40 years, my family – my grandfather, my father and me – have been asking for votes for themselves from this constituency and it is for the first time that I am seeking votes from here for anyone other than the family.”
Omar said that the time has now come that the constituency should chose its own candidate. “I slowly realised that time has come that Ganderbal needs a representative from the area only. That a NC candidate must belong to the area,” he said.
Chief Minister said: “Your expectations from the MLA that he should be around … For wedding ceremonies or funerals… For each happy moment or the moment of sadness, I could not do that much and for that I would have apologised to you but time did not permit me. However, I did not lack in developmental works,” he said.
Omar said: “For the last three years, I slowly realised that the people of Ganderbal have done so much for my family. You gave us votes and never asked us that when you are from Srinagar, why ask for votes from Ganderbal. We asked you for votes, you gave them”.
Chief Minister said that the decision to skip Ganderbal is not an easy one. “This decision was not an easy one. I did not take this decision under emotions or under any threat or compulsion,” he said.
Omar said: “I am not contesting elections from Ganderbal, but the huge place that Ganderbal enjoys in my heart will not be in any one else’s heart. And wherever I would be, whichever chair I be occupying, I will try my best to take forward the developmental works of Ganderbal.”
“Even knowing that I would not contest from Ganderbal, I gave the constituency a parting gift as I signed a Rs 820 crore 90 megawatt new hydro-electric project just two days before the model code of conduct came into effect,” Chief Minister said.
The NC working president said that after being elected to the legislature from here in 2008 he tried his best to settle the debt of the people. “I lost the elections from here but I did not go away. I returned in Parliament elections to try my luck and you made me a winner. Then I fought the election of 2008 from here and tried my best to settle the debt of the people of Ganderbal,” he said.