Neeraj Rohmetra
Jammu, Mar 27: The Cabinet Sub-Committee, which had been formulated to study the recommendations made by Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group will try to conclude its working and achieve consensus, before the onset of Assembly elections in the State.
This was stated by Finance Minister, Abdul Rahim Rather, who is Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC), while talking to EXCELSIOR.
“The Sub-Committee has to deliberate on important issues including autonomy. We have to analyse the report in its entirety and hold discussions over various recommendations made by Justice (Retired) Sagheer Ahmed and the report is quite lengthy”, said Mr Rather.
However, he said, “we shall hold deliberations over the report after the culmination of Parliamentary Polls and reach some conclusion before the onset of Assembly elections”, adding, “we have already done some effort in this direction and would try to create consensus on major recommendations”.
Though the Finance Minister, who is also Chairman of the CSC claims of having moved forward on the contentious issue, the eight members Committee hasn’t held any meeting since the past 17 months.
Besides, the term of the CSC has also come to an end in mid-February this year and the State Government is yet to grant it another extension, which would be its ninth in a row.
Political pundits attributed the failure to hold meeting to lack of consensus among the two coalition partners – Congress and National Conference (NC) on contentious issues like autonomy. The panel presently comprised eight Cabinet Ministers – four each owing allegiance to both the political outfits respectively.
Sources said, “there appeared to be no meeting ground among the two coalition partners on Justice Sagheer Ahmed recommendations, especially on autonomy. While a consensus has generally been evolved on few other recommendations of the Group, autonomy is the only hurdle on which the two partners differed strongly and no side was ready to give-in on its stand keeping in view the election year”.
Sources said the Congress Ministers were determined to oppose the National Conference move of submitting pro-autonomy recommendations by the CSC in election year. “Earlier also, the Congress Ministers have made it clear to their National Conference colleagues in the CSC that they stand for Indira-Sheikh accord for basis to any solution to Kashmir problem and not autonomy”, sources asserted.
“Intriguingly, the terms of the eight members Committee has also expired in February 2014. On August 29, last year the State Government had formally granted eighth extension to the Committee till mid-February, this year.
Earlier also, even during seventh extension of six months from November 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013, the Committee failed to hold any meeting mainly due to reshuffle in the Council of Ministry in which two CSC members-Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) were dropped.
From April 30, 2013 to August end, the Committee remained without extension though it had been assured that its term would be extended and the order was finally issued on August 29, 2013 and it was extended upto February 2014. However, even during this period the Committee has failed to meet even once.
Pertinently, the eight-member CSC (four each from National Conference and Congress) was constituted in January 2010 by the order of the State Cabinet after Justice (retired) Sagheer Ahmed had submitted his report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The term of the CSC had expired in mid-February this year and since then its fate was hanging in balance in the absence of any Government direction on extension of the term.
The Committee headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather now comprised Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir and Planning Minister Ajay Sadhotra (all from NC), Housing Minister Raman Bhalla, PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din (all from Congress).
However, Sagheer Ahmad Working Group had recommended autonomy as a solution to Kashmir problem.
The CSC had held nearly 17 meetings since it was set up in January 2010.
Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group had touched various sensitive subjects as it had been mandated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to submit a report on strengthening Centre-State relations and other subjects of discrimination and problems faced by refugees. It had recommended autonomy for the State and a full and final decision on Article 370 of the Constitution of India, granting special status to the State. It had also made a host of other recommendations as per its mandate.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during first stint of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had in March 2006 set up five Working Groups in the Second Round Table Conference on Jammu and Kashmir held in Srinagar. They include ‘Working Group on Confidence Building Measures Across Segments of Society in the State’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Centre-State Relations’, ‘Working Group on Ensuring Good Governance’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Relations Across LoC’ and ‘Working Group on Economic Reforms’.
Four out of five Working Groups had submitted their reports in April 2007 to the Prime Minister during third Round Table Conference on Kashmir held in New Delhi.
However, report of fifth Working Group headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmed was delayed due to completely divergent opinions given by its members and was submitted by Justice Ahmed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The Chief Minister had later submitted the report to the Prime Minister.
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