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| Will Congress high command buckle under Geelani's pressure or carry NC and PDP on board over refugees' issue? | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 12: Wittingly or unwittingly Kashmiri separatists, especially the hardliners, supplement the plan of weakening the process of State's integration with the rest of the country as is being conceived by the Valley centric mainstream political parties.
During the last one decade these separatists raise their voice whenever they find either the National Conference or the PDP in a helpless State while trying to plead in favour of withdrawal of troops from within the civilian areas. Separatists voice their anger against delay on the part of the Centre in lifting the AFSPA from the State. This is done the moment they find Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, making vain bids for securing withdrawal of the AFSPA.
Again wittingly or unwittingly the issue of grant of citizenship rights to the refugees from west Pakistan settled in Jammu for the last four to six decades has been proving a source of as much anger to Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani as is witnessed in the mind of Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mufti Mohd Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti.
Leaders belonging to the separatist camps and to the NC and PDP are quite opposed to any plan on granting permanent citizenship rights to the refugees from west Pakistan. Well those who are against granting citizenship rights to west Pakistan refugees or to any person who is neither born in Jammu and Kashmir nor has been living in the State since 1950 cite the provisions of the State constitution.
Well is the State Constitution so much sacrosanct that it cannot be changed or cannot be amended? It is not the case because on several times the State Constitution and various State laws have been amended as per the requirement of the situation or people of the State.
But for amending the Constitution the amendment bill has to be backed by over 60 per cent of the members of the State legislature and this can be possible if the NC, PDP and the Congress together support the amendment to the Constitution.
Hitherto the NC and the PDP have made it clear that they are opposed to any plan to grant citizenship rights to the refugees from west Pakistan. Hence the possibilities of amending the Constitution are bleak unless the Congress high command is able to carry on board the NC and the PDP leadership.
There is only one difference between the separatists' opposition to the plan on granting citizenship rights to the refugees from west Pakistan and to the firm rejection by the PDP and the NC. The separatists believe, that too wrongly, that grant of citizenship rights to west Pakistan refugees would alter the demographic character. But the NC and the PDP oppose it in the name of sanctity of the State Constitution.
Both sides are wrong because demographic character of Jammu an Kashmir may not change if the refugees from west Pakistan were granted citizenship rights because their number is so small that it can hardly affect the Muslim majority character of the State. Similarly the NC and the PDP stand on the sanctity of the Constitution believing that citizenship rights to refugees from west Pakistan would be a violation of the State Constitution because had they been in favour of making these refugees permanent citizens they could amend the Constitution.
Hence the separatists provide support to the NC and the PDP by airing their anger against any plan of the Government to grant citizenship rights to refugees from west Pakistan. The Hurriyat Conference led by Sayeed Ali Geelani has said it will oppose the Government's move to settle the West Pakistan refugees in Jammu and Kashmir as the step is aimed at assaulting the special status of the State.
"We have also come to know that the Government is planning to bring a Bill in the Assembly in this regard. We oppose any such move as the step will be direct attack on the special status of J&K," the Hurriyat spokesman has said.
He said New Delhi through its "stooges" in Jammu and Kashmir was finding ways and means to "damage the State Constitution." "Such efforts are on since 1947 and now issuing permanent resident certificates to west Pakistan refugees is another such move," the spokesman said.
But the Congress, BJP, Panthers Party, besides the VHP and Bajrang Dal and the BSP are in favour of granting citizenship rights to these hapless refugees which would not change the Muslim majority character of Jammu and Kashmir.
It is to be seen whether the Congress high command buckles under the pressure mounted by the separatists or take a firm stand on the issue. |
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