STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Why is the Centre and State Government sending confusing signals on issuing nativity/identity certificates to West Pak Refugees?
The latest response of the Union Government over the issue of providing ‘nativity/identity’ certificates to West Pakistan Refugees by the State Government has left behind a trail of puzzles.
The written replies furnished by the junior Ministers of Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju in response to questions submitted by Amar Singh of Samajwadi Party and Majeed Memon of NCP in Rajya Sabha has also raised question marks over the working of the Union Home Ministry.
A cursory look at the reply and news report released by the national news agency clearly establishes the fact that a deliberate attempt has been made to hide the truth and mislead the Parliament on the sensitive issue.
In the month of December 2016 when a similar news report had triggered a debate on the issue of nativity/identity certificates a set of documents with details of exchange of official communication between the Union Home Ministry and the State Govt was shared in public domain by the concerned authorities. Even at that time news channels had interviewed candidates queuing up outside the offices of Tehsildars for getting their identity certificates and the same were issued in large numbers to the bonafide candidates. The entire process was set in to motion in the month of August 2016.
According to these official communication it is the Union Home Ministry which has okayed the format of the nativity/identity certificates and forwarded the performa to the J&K Government for issuance of these certificates to the children of West Pakistani refugees for the purpose of recruitment in the central armed forces.
According to the news agency report, the government on Wednesday had said no “specific proposal” of providing “nativity and identity certificate” to West Pakistan refugees was under consideration of Jammu and Kashmir government.
The reply was furnished in response to a question whether the Centre is aware that the state government had recently decided to issue “nativity and identity certificates to about 1.5 lakh refugees from erstwhile Pakistan”.
The most baffling question is if the Union Home Ministry had initiated the entire exercise on what grounds and official records a statement has been made that no such proposal is in the pipeline. Whether the political considerations have forced the mandarins sitting in the highest echelons of power have been directed to hide the truth or a sinister design is behind the purported move to mislead the entire nation along with Parliamentarians.
