JAMMU: The AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC), an amalgam of over 100 non-political organisations, on Thursday accepted the proposal of the State Government that it “commits and confirms the setting up of AIIMS at Jammu and shall obtain appropriate order in this regard from Government of India by or before 20th July 2015”. The assurance was given in writing by Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and Forest Minister Bali Bhagat. The assurance was unambiguous. As a consequence, the responsible ACC leadership suspended the agitation till July 20 and called off the declared 72-hour Bandh’ in Jammu region.
Some insiders in the “jubilant” BJP told this correspondent that “the BJP has taken the decision of the ACC to suspend the agitation as its victory” and that “some top BJP leaders, including one minister, asserted that the ongoing movement would fizzle out sooner than later and collapse like a pack of cards”. “Our aim was to draw away the spirit. We have succeeded in our game plan. The ACC would become defunct and weak, as many of its members, who are not happy with the decision, would surely distance themselves from the body. Once this happens, the left over or truncated ACC would become redundant and unreal for all practical purposes. We have succeeded in puncturing the movement,” sources in the BJP told this correspondent.
The hope of the BJP, which was lambasted and exposed thoroughly by the ACC during all these days of chain hunger strike, would remain just a hope. It will not fructify. The ACC has resolved to use the period of next 30 days for mobilisation across Jammu region. “We will go in for an indefinite shut down; we will give a radical turn to our movement. We are committed to achieving out two stated goals – establishment of AIIMS in Jammu and an early completion of artificial lake project over the River Tawi. Those in the BJP who have come to believe that we would deviate from the path are living in a fool’s paradise and in a world of the past. This shall not happen. We took the decision to suspend agitation consciously after the negotiators from the government side made a commitment in writing and we will see to it that the assurance was translated into an action in letter and spirit. The BJP leadership will not be in a position to show its face in case it went back on the 18th June commitment. We will not allow BJP Ministers and legislators to venture out of their houses in case they played foul with people of Jammu region,” not one but many confident senior members of the ACC told this correspondent.
They also added that “the ACC is not only committed to achieving its two immediate goals, but also to function as pressure group for years as with the entry of the BJP in the State Government there is no opposition left in the sensitive border State of J and K”. “People of the ignored and marginalised Jammu region cannot be left to fend for themselves. There is the dire need for a responsible pressure group in the region and the AIIMS CC will discharge this responsibility and obligation,” said one senior ACC member, adding “the ACC would not allow anyone in the State to harm the cause of Jammu and create difficulties for New Delhi in Kashmir”.
If one goes by what the members of the ACC told this correspondent, then it can be said without an iota of doubt that this conglomeration of over 100 non-political organisations is all set to play an important role in Jammu region – something the BJP is mortally afraid of.