Rustam
Jammu, Aug 19: On Saturday, Congress leader and Minister of State (MoS) in the Omar Abdullah-led Government Manohar Lal, like many other leaders belonging to various political parties and organizations such as Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, took on those, including former Cabinet Minister and AICC member Abdul Gani Vakil, demanding disbanding of the Village Defence Committees (VDCs). He told Early Times that the need of the time was not to disband but further "strengthen" the VDCs.
Manohar Lal expressed this view when asked to explain his stand on what Abdul Gani Vakil said on Friday in Sopore. While addressing party workers convention, he had said the VDCs must be disbanded forthwith, as the people had lost confidence in them. The MoS took this line and identified him with the people of Jammu province at a time when most of other Congress leaders from Jammu thought it politically prudent to remain evasive on the issue, which is of great national import, as it involves the safety and security of the minority communities in the state, especially Jammu province, and sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
On Sunday, Congress MP from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda constituency jumped on to the bandwagon of the supporters of the VDCs and condemned the critics as anti-national. "Some anti-national elements have launched a vicious campaign against the VDCs and it is high time for all peace-loving people to counter such a campaign," Choudhary Lal Singh, the Congress Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Doda constituency, was quoted as saying. He dismissed out of hand the suggestion that "communal elements are dominating the VDCs" and termed this suggestion as nonsense. "This is total nonsense. They (members of VDCs) are fighting for the nation and protecting people, irrespective of their caste and religion from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism," Lal Singh was quoted as saying. He also said, "Any move to weaken the VDCs would prove disastrous for the state".
The Congress MP and the Congress MoS have spoken the truth. Indeed, the institution of the VDCs needs to be strengthened in the larger national interest. Jammu and Kashmir is a militant and separatist-infested state with Pakistan playing mischief at regular intervals to frighten the minority communities in the state and create a Kashmir-like situation so that it could convert the state into one community region and annex it.
It is time for other Congress leaders from Jammu to follow in the footsteps of Lal Singh and Manohar Lal and join the protect and strengthen VDCs movement started by the people of Jammu province and supported by all the non-Congress and non-NC parties. |
