Rustam
JAMMU, Aug 16: Fearing disarming and disbanding of the Village Defence Committees (VDCs), nationalist organizations, including the BJP, the JKNPP and the JSM, social organizations like the VHP, Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association Jammu, and political leaders like MLA Chaman Lal Gupta have joined hands and resolved to fight out anti-national forces demanding disbanding of the VDCs to promote their communal and separatist agenda. On August 14, leadership of these political parties and other associations, including some individual political leaders, condemned the critics of the VDCs and, on the contrary, demanding that the VDCs be strengthened to defeat the separatists.
The BJP warned that "those planning to disarm the VDCs in the state" of dire consequences and declared that "the BJP in cooperation with the nationalist people of the state will never allow these forces to succeed in their designs". "The VDCs have done a commendable job in containing Pak-sponsored terrorism and the BJP is for further strengthening," the BJP said. The Bar said: "The demand of disbanding the VDCs, which is anti-national, needs to be rejected by all Indians". "Strengthen the VDCs in order to encourage the nationalist forces, who have always stood by the nation in the odd and tough situations and countered the anti-national elements without caring for any threat," the Bar association said unanimously in a meeting held under the chairmanship of its president M K Bhardwaj.
The VHP also made identical demand. "The VHP will not allow disbanding of the VDCs in the erstwhile Doda district," the VHP said, and warned that the government that it must "desist from the move as it will have serious consequences". "The state government at the behest of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is planning to disband the VDCs and the VHP will not allow this to happen as the VDCs have done a commendable job in combating terrorism and protecting the lives and properties of yhe people in the militant infested areas of Jammu region," the VHP said.
The JKNPP, the JSM, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta also expressed similar views and warned the vested interests in the establishment not to tinker with the VDCs even slightly and demanded that the need of the time was to strengthen the VDCs, and not disarm them.
The Jammu-based Congress leaders would do well to make common cause with those demanding strengthening of the VDCs. Such a action on their parts would help them win over the people of Jammu province. |
