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| Now, opposition in Kashmir to Farooq Abdullah's regional autonomy to Jammu, Ladakh | | Possibility of trifurcation frightens Kashmiris | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 31: It was on December 20 that the NC president and former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah said that if his party was voted to power in the state in the next elections, it will bring a resolution to grant regional autonomy to all the three regions - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh - within 30 days. He also said that the NC already had produced a report on regional autonomy.
As reported in the Early Times, the Regional Autonomy Committee report (RACR) of April 13, 1999 contained nothing whatsoever as far as the empowerment of Jammu and Ladakh was concerned. It simply talked about regions and sub-regions and sought to divide Jammu and Ladakh into five regions on religious and ethnic lines. It nowhere said that the proposed regional councils would exercise the power to legislate. In fact, it talked about state's semi-independence and virtual slavery of Jammu and Ladakh. So much so, it invoked Mughal ruler Akbar to justify division of Jammu and Ladakh.
Notwithstanding the fact that Frooq Abdullah's regional autonomy meant only one more rivet in the chain of slavery of Jammu and Ladakh, certain elements in Kashmir have upped the ante against the proposal of Farooq Abdullah and asserted that the formula of the NC chief, if applied, would ultimately lead to the trifurcation of the state and it would be only desirable if the former J&K CM dropped his proposal.
One such person who had opposed Farooq Abdullah's proposal is former Chief Secretary to J&K Government Sheikh Ghulam Rassool. Rasool, who along with another former Chief Secretary and NC leader Vijay Bakaya, had once written manifesto for the NC, has also bemoaned that when in power, the NC did nothing to get for the state greater autonomy or to get its resolution on state autonomy implemented.
Opposing the proposal of Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool has said: "Under the proposed Regional autonomy, divisional level, political set up with counsellors as mini MLA's, chief executive as mini CM and regional council as mini Legislature charged with developmental agenda to start with will lead to parallel executive and legislative set up at the divisional level. The Hill Council based on development strategies has already led widening scope of administrative matters of state level and even Chief Council Leh refusing to unfurl state flag and instead hoisted National Flag with local Council flag. It appears that Dr. Farooq Sahib either disgusted and disappointed with the slogan of state Autonomy has shifted to Regional autonomy without any consideration to its ultimate trifurcation of the state. May be the pending writ petitions before the Supreme Court about Article 370/35-A have unnerved the mainstream stake holders".
"It is worthwhile to mention that BJP and some other parties have been advocating concept of Regional Council for Jammu partly to thwart State Autonomy and partly to assuage feelings of neglect of Jammuites by Kashmiri hegemony. This concept has not been accepted by NC and other section of the society as it would sow seeds of trifurcation of the state". |
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