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| Will PM Modi address Jammu's serious concerns? | | Bhim Singh's letter | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 3: The J&K National Panthers Party, which drew a blank in the last assembly elections due to the Modi wave that swept the entire nation and decimated almost a dozen political parties across the nation, has been leaving no stone unturned to recover the political space it lost to the BJP in December 2014. Despite the fact that not a single Panthers could make it to the assembly, the entire JKNPP leadership has been working overtime to advocate the Jammu cause not only here in several parts of the neglected Jammu province but in the national capital, New Delhi, as well.
During the past eight months, the entire JKNPP leadership has been on the roads of Jammu attacking the BJP and the state government from right and left and demanding justice for the neglected and marginalized people of the province. During this period, the JKNPP leadership - apart from holding half a dozen dharnas at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, and submitting memorandum to the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, organized several demonstrations in Jammu and best of its ability and capacity.
It was also the JKNPP which gave a call for bandh in Jammu on April 24 over the issue of establishment of AIIMS in the state. It lambasted the BJP for shifting the sanctioned AIIMS for Jammu to Kashmir. The call for bandh got tremendous response and the bandh was complete and peaceful in Jammu and several other towns in the province, including Udhampur, Samba and Vijaypur.
Besides, during the same period, the JKNPP leadership held a number of press conferences to highlight the issues facing different sections of society in Jammu province and also gave its fullest possible support to the movement for establishment of AIIMS in Jammu. But more than that, the JKNPP also resolved to end the Kashmiri hegemony over Jammu province. In fact, it adopted a resolution on separate Jammu state and declared that it would not take rest until it achieved its declared goal.
And on Monday, the chief patron of JKNPP Bhim Singh, who visits Jammu province at regular intervals to highlight the Jammu issue, wrote a comprehensive letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging his to "end discrimination" with the people of Jammu province. Actually, it was not a letter. It was a critique of the BJP. It said the history of the BJP in Jammu is the history of broken promises and also said that the BJP has failed the people of Jammu province.
Asking the Prime Minister as to what he is bringing on November 7 for the oppressed and depressed people of Jammu Pradesh, Bhim Singh referred to the BJP's election manifestos and the commitments the party had made to end discrimination with the people of Jammu province. "Your party's manifestos have made commitment for the implementation of almost all the important agendas I am mentioning in this letter. The BJP was committed to hold delimitation of the Assembly constituencies, which has been denied to the people of J&K by the state government. There has been no delimitation since 1981. There was only a casual delimitation in 1995/96 which was an eye-wash only," the letter said.
The comprehensive letter further said: "There are seven reserved constituencies and all fall in Jammu Pradesh. There has been no rotation of reserved Assembly seats and there is no hope for another 20 years for any rotation. The new districts were created by the government in 2007/08 without readjusting the boundaries of the Assembly constituencies. Presently some Assembly constituencies fall in two or three districts. It is against the guidelines of the Election Commission of India and even the Representation of Peoples Act," and added that "there are 24 constituencies reserved for the residents of PoJK".
"One-third of the residents of PoJK have been living as refugees (worst than refugees because they are not recognized as such) in J&K. One-third of 24 is 8. Eight Assembly seats (one-third) should be allotted to the PoJK refugees permanently settled in the state. They are about 12/13 lacs in the state, mostly residing in Jammu city. They have been waiting for comprehensive settlement till date. The successive government in the Centre have been exploiting and using them as vote bank only," the letter also said.
The letter, in addition, urged the Prime Minister to concede the demand of PoJK refugees by announcing package of one time settlement and also drew his attention to the issues confronting the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims, Hindu Gaddies and other sections of society, including refugees from Pakistan, saying these issues need to be addressed on a priority basis. Besides, the letter urged the Prime Minister to reverse the decision on AIIMS so that it was established in Jammu as promised and demanded the status of statehood for what it called Jammu Pradesh.
Indeed, Bhim Singh's letter to the Prime Minister was comprehensive as it dealt with almost all the issues facing the people of Jammu province. Will the Prime Minister announce a comprehensive package for Jammu province and address all the issues raised by Bhim Singh in his letter? It is difficult to answer this question. The problem is that BJP national leaders like Avinash Rai Khan, party Prabhari, and Ram Madhav, in-charge of J&K, have turned anti-Jammu. They will not give a right feedback to the Prime Minister. For, they are committed to promote the Kashmiri cause. |
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