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| What’s in name asks NC, Congress says it matters | | Coalition’s job ticket locked in name row, cabinet meeting again today | |
ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
Jammu, Dec 4: The big ticket employment programme of the National Conference and Congress coalition government is all set to be unveiled as per the promise but the name seems to be running into trouble.
A meeting of the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here today had to be called midway after members from the Congress expressed the reservations on the name of the employment scheme which was to be announced by the Chief Minister tomorrow. In hectic and apparently nervous schedule of the events listed for Saturday the Cabinet is once again meeting in the afternoon to settle down the name row.
In his budget speech in August, the Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather had deferred announcement on employment package and instead said that the same will be unveiled on December 5, the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He had said that the employment programme shall be known as Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for the Youth. There were no immediate reactions from the coalition partner Congress to the proposed name and proposed occasion of unveiling. However, a day ahead of the proposed announcement the Congress is reported to have expressed its reservations.
Just two days back the Early Times had reported that Congress leaders are fuming over the National Conference ambitions of taking credit of the employment plan which is billed as historic initiative of the coalition government. Sources said that the Congress leaders are happy with the employment plan but they are averse to National Conference creating a feeling of party project by unveiling the programme on birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and also naming after him.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and most of his party and Cabinet colleagues today flew out to Srinagar where they will be paying tributes to the leader on his birth anniversary. At 12:30 AM Chief Minister is attending a function at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science and immediately after that he and his cabinet colleagues will fly back to Jammu where meeting of the Cabinet, which remained inconclusive today, is scheduled to resume at 2 PM. The Chief Minister is hosting a press conference at 5PM to announce the employment programme. National Conference leaders hope that they will convince the Congress leaders in Delhi to prevail upon their Ministers in the state to settle down name row.
Meanwhile, sources said that both coalition partners National Conference and Congress agreed in principle on the broad contours of the employment programme. It is learnt that employment programme provides for an unemployment allowance which will be paid to those who are yet to secure gainful employment. Though the exact amount of the unemployment allowance has not been finalised yet but informed sources said it would be no less than Rs 1500 per month. Another feature of the programme was to earmark Rs 25 crores for the enterpreneurship development fund. This amount was to be utilised under a well conceived scheme for the prospective motivated, trained and previously registered first generation enterpreneurs to start their ventures in the sectors of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation and food processing. This scheme will come into operation from December 5.
Sources said that the main emphasis of the new employment programme wold be on self-employment for which the Government will provide multidimensional assistance to the unemployed youth. The sources said that unemployment allowance and emphasis on self-employment may
encourage youths to register themselves with the employment exchanges which now have been established in every district headquarters. They said that under the new policy these employment exchanges will function as counselling agencies which will facilitate the registered youth to gain access to various job opportunities
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