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| Congress-NC face to face with each other | | PRC to WP refugees | | Neha
Jammu, Jan 8: The Congress and the NC, two coalition partners, it appears, are again in a confrontation mode. The issue which has brought the Congress and the NC face to face with each other is the age-old demand of the refugees from West Pakistan (all-non-Muslims) and the seemingly positive attitude of the Congress towards their demand seeking citizenship rights which are available to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, called permanent residents of the State.
The immediate cause which has provoked the NC to counter the Congress was the January 6 Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Raman Bhalla's statement that the "State Government will bring necessary amendment in the Constitution in the next Assembly Session to clear all hurdles related to this issue" and that the "domicile certificate (for refugees from West Pakistan) is an internal matter which would be sorted out shortly". Bhalla had made this statement while addressing a meeting of West Pakistani refugees at Swankha More, near Vijaypur. Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, who was also present in the meeting, had endorsed what Bhalla had said in response to the issues raised by president, West Pakistani Refugee Action Committee (WPRAC), Labba Ram Gandhi. Sharma had, in addition, referred to the delegation of State Congress leaders which under the leadership of president Pradesh Congress Committee, Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz and MP Madan Lal Sharma, recently met with the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister in New Delhi and discussed with them the issues of West Pakistan and POJK refugees.
It was expected that the NC would join the issue with the Congress and it did happen. It was none other than Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar who countered the Congress Ministers, saying the State Government was not thinking in terms of amending the Constitution in order to grant domicile certificates to the refugees from West Pakistan. "Anybody is free to bring a Bill in the legislature in this regard, but the Government has no plans to do it on its own. As far as amendment is concerned, anyone can bring the Bill…Where is the two thirds majority that is required to amend the Constitution? West Pakistan refugees are not the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and as such there is no question of giving them PRCs", Sagar told a English news paper (daily) when asked to give his reaction to the statement of Bhalla.
"Granting PRCs to West Pakistan refugees doesn't come under the ambit of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir as they are not the residents of our State. It is an issue which comes under the purview of Government of India and, therefore, the onus lies with the Central Government to settle the issue," he was also quoted as saying.
It was clear from what Sagar said that the NC was vehemently opposed to the demand as put forth by the hapless refugees from West Pakistan. But more than that, the manner in which he rejected out-of-hand the assurance of two senior Ministers in the Omar Abdullah-led coalition Government of which he himself is a senior member clearly indicated that the NC and the Congress continue to be a coalition of disparate political outfits even after the completion of four years of their rule. It will be seen if Raman Bhalla, Sham Lal Sharma and other Congress leaders will be able to counter the NC opposition to the very genuine and democratic demand of these struggling and left-in-the-lurch refugees and see to it that they are granted domicile certificates at the earliest, if not the State Subject Certificates. The Congress can bring the weak NC to its knees provided it is willing to tell its coalition partner that it shall withdraw its support to the Government in the event of the NC refusing to accept its very valid suggestion: Amendment in the Constitution and grant of domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan. |
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