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| Will Madan, Lal imitate their counterparts in UP, Maharashtra? | | Replicating Telangana in Jammu | | Neha
JAMMU, Aug 1: The decision of the Union Government to create Telangana State out of Andhra Pradesh has emboldened elements in several states of the country to demand creation of more states. In West Bengal, the Gurkhas have intensified their agitation to obtain a separate Gurkha State comprising Darjeeling and other areas, including Jalpaiguri. In Assam, the Bodos have intensified their agitation to obtain Bodo State. In Maharashtra, several Congress leaders have asked the Union Government to treat Vidharba at par with Telangana and bifurcate Maharashtra so that the neglected Vidharba region gets statehood. In UP, a number of Congress MPs, including Congress spokesperson Jagdambika Pal, have demanded division of the state into four states. Two Union Ministers, including Jairam Ramesh, have supported the demand, saying small states are the need of the hour. The BJP, which has welcomed the decision of the Union Government to create Telangana State, has urged the Central Government to set up States reorganization commission so that new states are created. It needs to be underlined that senior BJP leader Sheshadri Chari on Wednesday in one TV discussion on the issue, told the anchor that Jammu and Kashmir is one more state in the country where the people are demanding division of the state. Obviously, he hinted at the demands in Jammu for statehood and Union Territory in Ladakh.
Now that a number of Congress MPs and Congress Ministers have come forward and openly demanded division of UP and Maharashtra, saying if the ignored and underdeveloped regions in these states are to be empowered, these states have to be divided forthwith, it is also time for the Congress MP’s from Jammu Madan Lal Sharma and Ch. Lal Singh and other Congress leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and other Congress Ministers, including Sham Lal Sharma, to imitate their counterparts in other states and force the Union Government to de-link Jammu Pradesh from Kashmir and confer on it the status of statehood. They know the plight of the people of Jammu Pradesh and they also know the causes responsible for the neglect and marginalization of the Pradesh to which they belong.
It was not for nothing that Congress Minister Sham Lal Sharma had demanded trifurcation of the state at Bani in Kathua district some three years ago in a public meeting and in the presence of almost all the senior Congress leaders, including the JKPCC president, Saif-ud-Din Soz and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma. He had said, "Let Kashmir get what it wants and let Jammu and Ladakh obtain what they want". "Give Jammu the status of statehood; give Ladakh Union territory," he had boldly said. "Kashmiris want autonomy; we do not," he had also said.
Now is the time for the Congress leaders from Jammu to give effect to what Sham Lal Sharma had said. They would not be crossing the line if they demand separation from Kashmir or status of statehood for Jammu Pradesh. It's a constitutional demand. Even otherwise, the Congress manifesto of 2008, which was made public on the eve of Assembly elections in October 2008, unambiguously says that the state polity has to be reorganized by amending the state constitution. The Manifesto had said: "The Congress, if voted to power, shall amend the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution to federalize the state polity and establish regional council in Jammu". The manifesto was released to the press at Press Club Jammu by none other than JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz, Union Health Minister and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir affairs Prithavi Raj Chavan, present Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Madan Lal Sharma, Ch Lal Singh and other Congress leaders must rise to the occasion and demand and work for the statehood of the neglected Jammu Pradesh. |
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