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| Interlocutors arrive in Winter Capital on fourth visit | | Delimitation issue echoes in talks with politicians, academicians | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Jan 17: From academicians to leaders of the two main opposition parties, the issue of Delimitation of the Assembly constituencies was the issue which echoed everywhere and with everyone whom the Interlocutors appointed by Centre met today during the day long engagements. While J&K National Panthers Party lay thrust on its slogan of reorganization of the state as a means of remedy for removal of disparity meted to regions, BJP stuck to its outcry on matters related to discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh. The members of the Faculty of Jammu University too stressed on the need to strengthen the bonds of integration of state with Indian Union while opposing tooth and nail the political moves to dilute or weaken the sovereignty of country. The Interlocutors arrived in the winter capital today to have fresh round of talks with all stakeholders and listen to their viewpoint on a host of issues.
Interestingly, the three interlocutors who arrived here today on fourth visit to the state chose to walk up to the offices of the state unit of BJP and Panthers Party where they held threadbare discussion with the leaders of both Jammu based parties. It was during their last visit to Jammu that both BJP and Panthers Party leadership were displeased with the manner interlocutors had extended invite to them for holding discussions. Even as the Interlocutors tried to rectify their 'mistake' , both BJP as well as Panthers Party kept away from any parleys. Conscious and cautious enough this time, the Interlocutors made good the 'loss' , in not registering the viewpoint of the two main political parties. Soon after they landed in Jammu, all the three interlocutors Dileep Padgaonkar, Prof Radha Kumar and MM Ansari rushed to BJP office in city and held talks with the senior leaders of the parties for over one hour.
The BJP's state unit president Shamsher Singh Manhas and his predecessor and MLA Ashok Khajuria were among those who spoke to the interlocutors and told them what they felt was the way forward for Jammu and Kashmir.
'Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian union, should be scrapped. That would end all doubts over the issue and there would be no problem,' Manhas is stated to have conveyed to the interlocutors. The interlocutors are also learnt to have sought BJP leaders' views on flag hoisting row and also asked them about the purpose of the party's plans to unfurl the national tricolour in Srinagar Jan 26, to which Manhas is reported to have responded that the move was to 'underscore national unity'.
'We believe that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, as citizens of this country we have the right to hoist the flag anywhere in the country,' he saidThough the interlocutors chose not to speak to media today, Dileep Padgaonkar who leads the team contended that meeting with the state BJP leaders was fruitful and that they were quite satisfied with the discussions held with leaders. "We are agreed to meet them again and we are hopeful that we will meet them next month when we will come here.", he said. Later, the newly appointed chief spokesman of the party Dr Jitender singh
Gave a brief summary of the major issues deliberated with interlocutors and said that a comprehensive schedule has been laid before the team. " They responded well to the points party has raised in wider perspective….", Dr Singh said adding that they patiently heard the issues relating to discrimination and delimitation which BJP leaders raised in a detailed manner. " They have assured these points would reach to concerned quarters in New Delhi ", Dr Singh said.
"Padgaonkar has assured to seek Central government's statement on latest data of funds allocation to the state and has also written to Chief Election Commission deliberating on the criteria which can be ground for the consideration of delimitation on the basis of population and area,' said Jitender Singh.
Expressing apprehension over the threat to the life of party leaders from all over India to unfurl the tri-colour at Lal Chowk on January 26, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) chief spokesman Dr. Jitendrda Singh asserted, "The activists are risking their life for a big nationalist cause".
The Interloctors also met the leaders of Panthers Party in their party office at Gandhi Nagar .Led by senior leader Harsh Dev Singh, the Panthers Party apart from raising the issue of Delimitation of Assembly constituencies in a vehement manner also stressed on reorganisation of the state with separate Assemblies in all the three regions, arrangement for separate Secretariates, recruitment Boards etc. "We conveyed this strongly and convinced them the equitable treatment of all the three regions in terms of devolution of distribution of funds and other things had become imperative in the backdrop of complaints of discrimination and disparity getting louder by the dya", said Harsh Dev Singh. The Panthers Party also raised the issue of large size of ministry, much higher than the Union Ministry size , which it said amounted to loot and plunder of the already scarce resources in the state.There was need to curtail this plunder, they asserted. The Panthers Party raised the issue of six years Assembly term in the state which they said amounted to abuse of special powers granted to the state.
The third vital engagement of the Interlocutors today remained their detailed discussion with the senior Faculty Members of the Jammu University who made their submission of related issues , almost on identical lines, with Delimitation being the common issue and opposition of the moves which resulted in dilution of integration of J&K with rest of the country. The University Faculty members laid stress that there was need to have thorough debate on special status given to the state so as to know what were its merits and demerits. They also stressed on need to democratization in real sense with proper delimitation across the state and decentralization at the grass root level by incorporating the 73rd and 74th amendments of Indian constitution. The University teachers were also vocal on the need to extend more central laws rather than withdrawing in nay new political arrangement. |
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