JAMMU: Former Minister and Panthers Party Chairman Harsh Dev Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitely locked horns on Monday over reference made about misgovernance of PDP-BJP alliance during All Party Delegation meet in Jammu.
It so happened that soon after vocal Harsh Dev accused coalition government in the State of failure on all fronts, Arun Jaitely stood up from his seat and threatened to leave the meeting half-way if the Panthers Chairman continued his tirade against the BJP.
Sensing the sensitivity of the situation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh immediately intervened and invited Harsh Dev to come to Delhi to discuss all points in view of paucity of time here.
Harsh Dev Singh, while talking to STATE TIMES said that visibly agitated Arun Jaitley even insisted upon Home Minister Rajnath Singh to get up from his seat. However, Rajnath persuaded Jaitely to take his seat but Jaitely directed towards Harsh Dev, saying, “We are not going to listen to you any more”.
“You may listen to me or not but you can’t stop me from speaking the truth”, responded Harsh Dev Singh, adding. “You are a senior Minister of the Government. You need to have courage to listen to the viewpoint of the opposition.
“You are attacking not only the Government but also the senior bureaucrats. You must stop that”, said Jaitley.
Harsh Dev Singh retorted back, ” They are not my masters And I have a right to put forward my viewpoint as a duly invited participant in the interaction.”
Furious over the response of Union Finance Minister, the Panthers chief took a jibe, saying, “When it comes to talking to separatists, you have all the time to stand outside their royal residences. While you are always in desperation to talk to them, you have no patience to listen to the woes of Jammuties”.
Earlier, during his 15 minutes address, Harsh Dev Singh accused BJP-PDP of forging an unholy and opportunist alliance in the State despite having vowed during elections to wipe out each other. He said that BJP has cowardly surrendered on all its fundamentals and failed to get even a single election promise incorporated in the Agenda of Alliance. He said that the people of both the regions had rejected this alliance which they considered as a betrayal with the people. He said that BJP had forgotten the issues of West Pak refugees, POJK migrants and the promises made with the residents of IB and LoC. He said that BJP assured delimitation of Assembly constituencies during the elections but abandoned the slogan after assuming power. He said that unemployed, underemployed and daily wagers of various govt. departments besides ReT’s and SSA and RMSA teachers were the worst sufferers. He said that highly qualified youth including PhDs and MPhils were being treated like bonded labourers. He said there was a massive discontent in Jammu region with BJP ministers have utterly failed to address the aspirations of the people.
Referring to repeated interruptions during his speech, Harsh Dev Singh said that BJP never wanted them to attend the All Party Delegation meeting and he was being interrupted during the course of the meeting by certain bureaucrats also who were insisting him time and again to cut short his address. This was the stage when clash took place with Jaitley confronting Harsh Dev Singh and asking him to stop accusing the BJP and bureaucrats . Jaitley remained standing on his chair for quite some time insisting other members of the delegation to rise in protest who refused to oblige Jaitley.
During the course of the heated exchanges between Harsh Dev and Arun Jaitley , the NSG and security personnel entered the venue and tried to forcibly silence the JKNPP leaders which agitated other leaders of the Panthers Party .
Balwant Singh Mankotia stood up from his seat objecting to the brow beating tactics and regretted that JKNPP was the only recognized political party from Jammu region which was being maltreated even during the course of the meeting. He was joined by several other members of the Panthers party including Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Pratap Singh and Shyam Gorkha rising from their seats in protest.
Later, Panthers party submitted 25- point memorandum to APD.
While condemning the anti-national posturing adopted by the separatists and secessionists who refused to meet the All Party Delegation, Harsh Dev Singh said that there should be no compromise with such saboteurs and subversive forces that didn’t deserve any leniency and were required to be dealt with in accordance with law. He said that soft approach and open space given to the largely pampered separatists was primarily responsible for deteriorating security scenario in the Kashmir Valley and called for invocation of sedition charges against all those challenging the integrity and sovereignty of India. He said that prevalent situation qualified for invocation of Sec 92 of the state constitution and imposition of Governors’ Rule without further delay.
Seeking equitable treatment to all regions of the state, Harsh Dev Singh apprised the All Party Delegation about the persistent neglect and deprivation of Jammu region by successive govts. as against a highly mollycoddled Kashmir valley which though had flatly refused to acknowledge the central benevolence and doles as was evident from ongoing turmoil. He said that while Jammu region was clamouring for economic packages and removal of discrimination in the matter of allocation of funds, employment opportunities, general development, tourism promotion, power sector, Heath etc, there were no takers for its woes.
Projecting the issues and concerns of Jammu region, Harsh Dev Singh said that people were largely disappointed with the u-turns taken by its mandated leaders with regard to all their grandiloquent promises made at the time of elections and non incorporation of even a single election time promise in the ‘Agenda of Alliance’. He said that people residing on IB and LoC who were assured plots in safer zones besides compensation for loss of lives, livestock, crops and for land used for fencing and mines, were an utterly dis-appointed lot. He said West Pakistan Refugees seeking Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) and assured of the same by BJP at the time of elections were disappointed due to the govt’s U-turn on the same. He also sought the issuance of PRCs to the children of the daughters married outside J&K State. He said that compensation for POJK Migrants had also been grossly reduced from proposed Rs. 9096 crore to Rs. 2000 crore which had created resentment among them and the Jammu Migrants who were seeking parity with Kashmir Migrants were also a dejected lot. He said there was unrest among Jammu traders, Industry and transporters who had sustained huge losses due to the ongoing Kashmir crisis. He said that while govt. employees were agitated over the non implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, the temporary workers including DRWs, Casuals, consolidated, need-based workers of various Govt. Deptts. had taken to agitational course for non payment of their wages for past several months and non regularization of their services. He said that highly qualified including Ph.Ds and M.Phils were forced to work for paltry honorarium of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 8,000 in schools and colleges on adhoc basis.
Singh said that unemployment and under employment was one Major factor that had led to massive unrest with Jammu region being subjected to the most hostile discrimination in this regard. He called for promotion of Industry in Jammu region so as to give a fillip to the sagging economy and to generate employment avenues. He said that LARR Act of 2013 which assured four times the market value of land as compensation for lands acquired from farmers in rural areas and twice the market value in urban areas was not implemented in J&K. thus creating huge resentment amongst the farming community. He said that with alround dis-enchantment, the govt. needed to accord due consideration to the said issues of unemployed, under-employed, employees, traders, transporters, farmers, refugees, migrants and border people.
Harsh Dev Singh apprised the All Party Delegation about the abuse of Art 370 and special status for the benefit of politicians. He said that taking recourse to special powers, the political class had enhanced the duration of Legislative Assembly to six years as against five years term in all other states of the country. Like wise the law had been amended in the J&K state to have double the size of Ministry than was otherwise permissible under the central Act. The J&K State had therefore sacrificed austerity at the altar of political expediencies despite it carrying the tag of a pauper state. He said that such political corruption was also required to be curbed as it was benefiting only the political class. Harsh Dev Singh further pointed out that patronized corruption, maladministration, non-governance, lack of Accountability and transparency were the other factors that created dis-enchantment and loss of faith in the present dispensation. Those who comprised the delegation included Balwant Singh Mankotia State President, Yash Paul Kudal State President Young Panthers, Bansi Lal Sharma, Anita Thakur, Manju Singh, Paramjeet Singh, Rajesh Padgotra, Shyam Gorkha, Basharat Ali, Gagan Pratap Singh and Pawan Dev Singh.