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| Refugees’ issue rocks House, demonstrations held outside | | |
Munish Gupta
Jammu, March 9: On its last day, the Legislative Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes as BJP, JKNPP and Independent Ashwani Kumar staged a walkout over West Pak refugee issue demanding rights for them. Demanding citizenship rights for the West Pakistan Refugees the opposition today created ruckus in House and termed it as human rights violation.
While members were raising the issue inside the House, the refugees took out a protest march towards civil secretariat which was, however, prevented by a heavy contingent of the security forces.
Raising the issue during the zero hour in the House, independent MLA Ashwani Sharma demanded citizenship rights for around lakh refugees of West Pakistan.
Ashwani was supported by Panthers Party legislator Balwant Singh Mankotia who said, ‘Why Government befooling West Pakistan refugees during poll times by making tall claims but forgot the promises.’
In the meantime BJP and rest of the Panthers’ legislators joined the Ashwani and the Mankotia charging the successive governments for failing to provide genuine right refugees and alleged discrimination with refugee and Jammu as well.
While replying the said question Minister for Finance, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said the matter cannot be solved easily.
He further added that last year then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called an All Party Meet on West Pakistani refugees issue and in the meeting consensus was made that it is not possible to provide them Permanent Residence Certificate but as far as civic amnesties care, government will provide them basic amnesties and as per Prime Minister package Rs 2 lacs will be given to each refugee family. Rather also mentioned today we don’t know on what issue the refugees are taking up as we have not received their charter of demands.
As soon as Rather said this then the legislators of BJP, JKNPP and Ashwani Kumar Sharma stood up from their respective seats and remarked- Refugees are protesting for getting their citizenship’ resulting a noisy scenes in Assembly.
''Over 60 years have passed but the West Pakistan Refugees have not been given the citizenship rights by the state government despite the fact that Government of India has already accepted them as part of the country,'' the MLA said.
Ashwani, supported by the Panthers Party and BJP MLAs, stepped into the well of the House amid shouting of slogans, 'unko Hindustani hone ka adhikar do'.
As the slogans 'Refugees ke saath insaaf karo', 'andhi bahari sarkar hai-hai’, echoed in the House, Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone said, ''The minister has made clear that as a guest, whatever rights they deserve, would be given to them but they cannot be brought under the citizenship''.
However targeting the govt, Ashok Khajuria MLA BJP said, ‘Government is only concerned for those who had migrated to Pakistan and thus it supported Bill 9 but ignored those who respect Indian constitution’
Within sloganeering ‘Unko Hindustani Hona Ka Adhikar Chaiya, Refugeeayo Ko Haq Do etc the JKNPP, BJP and JSM MLA Ashwani Kumar staged walkout from J&K assembly in protest on this issue.
Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone said, ''The minister has made clear that as a guest, whatever rights they deserve, would be given to them but they cannot be brought under the citizenship''.
Meanwhile, the West Pak Refugees too show their anger towards government apathetic attitude towards them by holding a protest procession started from Exhibition ground and finally were stooped at Shalimar Chowk by the huge deployment of police force there.
They were demanding citizenship and other rights. It needs to be mention that these refugees have been struggling for the last several decades seeking permanent settlement, compensation and voting rights as well.
Labha Ram Gandhi President West Pakistani Refugee Action Committee in his memorandum has demanded that SC/OBC certificates be issued to the refugees and the certificates issued by the Namdars, Sarpanches and President West Pakistani Refugees be considered valid. The recruitment in central services should be thrown open for all WP refugees of 1947 settled in Jammu and Kashmir
The West Pakistani refuges in a memorandum to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have sought special package for the WP refugees for their rehabilitation in Jammu and Kashmir and granting state subject rights to them. They have also demanded allotment of government land for cultivation, besides free education to their wards and reservation in government jobs.
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