STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution for creating a conducive atmosphere for the return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants to the Valley while Legislative Council witnessed ruckus over deploying teachers as Chowkidars during 2016 Kashmir unrest.
Soon after the House met in the morning, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the Assembly should pass a resolution for the return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants, rising above party politics.
The working President of National Conference (NC) said 27 years ago “unfortunate” circumstances in Kashmir had forced the migration of Kashmiri Pandit community, members of Sikh community and some Muslims.
“Today it has been 27 years since they (Kashmiri Pandits, some Sikhs and Muslims) left the Valley and we should rise above politics and pass a resolution in the house for their comeback,” Omar said.
As the Question Hour came to an end, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri approved that the resolution should be brought in the House.
Speaker Kavinder Gupta moved the resolution which was passed by voice vote.
Meanwhile, Opposition National Conference and Congress on Thursday questioned the legality of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s order during last year’s summer unrest asking teachers to be present in schools round-the-clock and staged a walkout from the Legislative Council upon not getting a “satisfactory” reply.
Replying to a clubbed question by NC members Qaiser Jamshed Lone and Bashir Ahmad Veeri, MoS Education Priya Sethi said the Director of School Education, Kashmir, issued the circular to prepare duty roster so that at least one official remained present in school round-the-clock during the unrest to ensure that it is protected against incidents of fire.
Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga and NC members raised supplementary queries to the main question and asked the government to elaborate on the legality of the circular.
“They are not your security guards. Government has demeaned the institution of teaching by issuing such an order,” Veeri said and was seconded by Monga.
Sethi, however, said it was specifically mentioned in the circular that teachers would remain in the school during daytime only.
Subsequently, in view of the availability of adequate CPWs, Chowkidars and orderlies, the department redeployed them for watch and ward purpose so that no school categorised as “hyper-sensitive” and “sensitive” was left unattended, she said.
The minister said the department also roped in the local community to protect schools which proved successful and 15 attempts by anti-social elements to torch the institutions were thwarted.
She said teachers “voluntarily” associated themselves to protecting schools. Unsatisfied by the reply, all NC and Congress members walked out of the House.
