Hyder Ali
Early Times Report
srinagar, May 18: With no end to controversies surrounding the proposed handover of land to non-state subjects in Jammu and Kashmir, the government apprehends another "June agitation" in the coming month even as a high level meeting was being called in New Delhi to decide future course of action.
Sources said in the past around a month, since Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took oath, paving way for Peoples Democratic Party's second innings with rightwingBharatiyaJanta Party, there have been a series of controversies over proposed allotment of land. Officials look at the counter-developments being fueled by separatists and opposition, a move to destabilize the coalition government.
Sources said the central government was scheduled to call a high level meeting this evening to discuss the matter threadbare. Apart from the Home Minister RajnathSingh and National Security Advisor, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were scheduled to attend the meeting. "The state is consulting the central government over the issue," the sources said.
What started with debate over scheduled allotment of land for Pandit townships, and Sainik Colony, subsequently snowballed into a major controversy, when the government hinted at construction of shelters for non-locals in the state, including frontier Kupwara. Some clauses in the new industrial policy "only added fuel to fire."
While separatists have been on the forefront of resisting the government plans and pledge to fight it tooth and nail, even opposition National Conference and Congress uphold the same opinion, just to corner the PDP-led government.
The role of government spokesman and cabinet minister NaeemAkhter is equally under scanner, for his persistent failure to give any convincing clarification before the media, something which exposes his lack of political experience and inability to "call a spade a spade."
Observers believe that every time Naeem spoke, the situation worsened. As of now, when the controversy is gaining momentum, what put the government on tips is the formal statement from the Kashmir Inc, which forecast "dark days ahead."
The Kashmir Economic Alliance, Chairman Mohammed Yasin Khan in a surprise development on Tuesday evening "cautioned" the government that such developments were dragging the state towards another "Amarnath land like agitation."
In a statement, Khan who also heads the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, said, "The connected series of events suggest that some forces were hell-bent to create an atmosphere of unrest while the timings of such conspiracies seem to be a part of a sinister design."
"On one hand the state government spokesman (NaeemAkhter) has been telling lies after lies, to keep his RSS masters happy, whereas the reality is that each and every statement of his with reference to allotment of land to outsiders is proving absolute lie," Khan said.
The Kashmir Inc asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to understand that such plans would "only create chaos and unrest, which is against the interests of the subcontinent."
On the other hand, the Kashmir Inc, equally asked the separatist to prevail over the issue lest "situation goes out of hands, where things end up in loss of previous human lives." "The corporate Kashmir is for peace, prosperity and communal brotherhood in all the three regions of the state," Khan added.
Sources said "out of the blue" statement from the Kashmir Inc, was a clear-cut feeler to the state government that all is not well on the ground and that things can go out of hands, much the way it happened in some previous summers, when Kashmir took to streets.
This all has left the Mehbooba-led government unnerved while the intelligence network is being intensified to keep the top-brass updated about the developments. "Situation is a bit tense and we have kept our fingers crossed," said a top official. |
