JAMMU : Claiming ignorance to any threat by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to resign over setting up of new administrative units in Jammu & Kashmir, his deputy Tara Chand today said a report on the matter would be submitted to the state cabinet in a day or two.
“There is nothing he (Omar) has told me. I came to know through media. He has not talked to us in this (threat of resignation) context and I think that there is no such issue,” Chand, who is the chairman of Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on setting up of new Administrative Units told reporters here.
“In politics everyone tries to take political mileage out of an issue. But on this Omar has not talked to me,” he said.
Ruling out differences between allies Congress and National Conference, he said, “The report is being compiled and it would be submitted to the cabinet in a day or two.”
Chand, who chaired a meeting at the Circuit House for several hours today, said, “The cabinet committee has been continuously working on the proposal of new administrative units. It was during the coldest days recently in Jammu and Kashmir that the CSC went to all places and met all political parties, social organisations and recorded their demands.”
Flanked by members of the committee, he said, “We have received more than 3,000 demands. After that CSC sat together and worked on it for six to seven days and to finalise the proposal shortlisting all 2,000 to 2,500 demands.”
Chand, a senior Congress leader, said a commission under S S Bleoria was set up for creation of new administrative units when Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Chief Minister. But the Azad government fell and its report could not be implemented.
When the new coalition government headed by Omar Abdullah took over, he set up a new committee under the chairmanship of Mushtaq Ganaie and the panel worked for four years, he said.
“When the report was placed before the cabinet, Congress ministers from Jammu raised the issue of discrimination that several important areas in Ladakh and Jammu did not figure in the list,” he said, adding even NC members from Kupwara raised the issue that some areas in the district has been ignored.
Following this the present committee was set up. “My party wants that all these areas are given their due in the report and the people should get justice,” Chand said.
Replying to a question about Omar hitting out at Congress at the Vijaypur rally for “creating hurdles in the passage of the proposal of new administrative units”, Chand said, “I was not (present) in Vijaypur rally. As I said this is a coalition government of both the parties and the government is working for the peace, progress and prosperity of the state.”
“As regards to setting up of new administrative units, this is in the interest of the people of the state. No hurdle is being created from the Congress’s side and neither the party wants to create any hurdle… Congress wants that this government should continue till the last date of its tenure,” he said. (AGENCIES)
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