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| Dismal record of five years of coalition government, concerning Jammu region | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Jan 20
With more than five years of the six year term of the present assembly and the coalition government completed and hardly nine months left for the next assembly elections, the report card of the coalition government presents a dismal picture, as far its declared agenda concerning Jammu region is concerned. None of the points concerning Jammu, incorporated in the Common Minimum Program of the coalition government, which forms the bedrock of joining hands by forces having divergent agendas, has been implemented.
The worst part of disappointment about the non fulfillment of any of the aspirations and urges of the people of Jammu region, is that even two years and two months term of the coalition government led by Congress nominee Ghulam Nabi Azad, nothing practically has been done to address the concerns of Jammu people, on whose solid support the Congress had won 15 seats in the region and together with 5 seats won by it in Kashmir valley and Ladakh, it became the major partner of the ruling coalition. Not only this, it was the Jammu regional card played by the Congress in the run up for 2002 assembly elections and its plank of giving the state a Chief Minister belonging to Jammu region, for the first time in the independent history of J&K, which clicked and brought the Congress in the present position.
The issues concerning the aspirations of Jammu region included in the Common Minimum Program are implementation of Wazir Commission report, recommending three more districts and some more tehsils and naib tehsils to Jammu region, while creating only one more district in Kashmir valley. While the Mufti led coalition government for three years put this agenda on the backburner and gave top priority to the Kashmir centric and even pro secessionist and pro militant programmes put up in the CMP or even out of it, Ghulam Nabi Azad as the Chief Minister of the State belonging to Jammu region implemented the Wazir Commission report in an entirely reverse manner, by creating four more districts each in Jammu and Kashmir regions. This further extenuated the disparity in undertaking development works, through district development plans in the two regions. The very spirit of Wazir Commission recommendations, which was to remove the disparity and give Jammu more districts in view of its much larger area, inhospitable terrain and long distances from the district and tehsil head quarters, was ruthlessly killed.
The other important item of CMP concerning Jammu is appointing of fresh delimitation commission to carve out assembly constituencies afresh, on the basis of set criteria of population, number of electorates, terrain, topography and distances from one place to another etc. If this criteria is adhered to strictly Jammu should have at least 50% more seats than the Kashmir valley. But presently Kashmir division which has almost equal population and less number of electorates than in Jammu region and which is compact to be covered within one day on motorable roads as compared to Jammu region which is hilly, with more of its area lying far flung and in accessible, has nine more seats in the assembly. The Congress led government rather than removing this regional disparity in representation in the assembly sought to further increase this disparity, as the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced 25% increase in the assembly seats proportionate to the region wise present strength in the assembly. This could further harm the interest of Jammu region, giving Kashmir valley still more representation than Jammu region in the assembly. However the Chief Minister has now made the Volta face by taking the plea that no fresh delimitation commission can be appointed till 2016, as per the constitution amendment bill passed in the past and hence no assembly seats can be increased or readjusted till then.
Still another issue concerning Jammu is the granting of citizenship rights to refugees from West Pakistan settled in Jammu region for last 60 years. Despite fighting shoulder and shoulder with the original inhabitants of the state three wars and a proxy war by the enemy and shading their sweat and blood for the development of the state these hapless people have been denied all the basic rights even to cast their votes in the assembly elections and are debarred from government services and to own their landed property in the state. The recent statement in the state assembly by MoS Revenue, Aijaz Ahmed Khan that there is no proposal before the government to give permanent state resident rights to these people is highly discouraging and a slap on the face of Congress led government.
The plight of border migrants is still miserable and so has been the lot of migrants from hilly areas during terrorism in Jammu region, who continue to be getting the raw deal and not being treated at par with migrants from Kashmir valley, despite the ruling in their favour by the Apex Court as well as the assurances given by the government. |
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