An attempt by all-party delegation to break ice between two estranged communities failed when representatives of a particular community refused to participate in a joint meeting even as curfew continued for 12th consecutive day in Kishtwar township on Tuesday. “We do not want to take any chance as tension prevails in the area”, a police officer, preferring not to be named, said adding that some fresh arrests were made by the police, which could have sparked off protests again. Curfew was relaxed for four hours on Monday, during which the situation remained peaceful with no report of any untoward incident. Police have recovered nine of the 22 guns looted from a local gun-shop by rioters on August 9. Some people have been arrested in this connection, police said. Sources said that police arrested three youth, including the Personal Security Officer (PSO) of State Secretary BJP, Sunil Sharma, last night. “Some more arrests are likely today”, they added. The ruling and opposition parties’ representatives, part of an all-party delegation, which is presently on a visit to the district came under severe criticism for “mishandling of situation and misrepresentation of facts” following August 9 clashes. An all-party delegation comprising representatives of National Conference (NC), Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party, National Panthers Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Shiromani Akali Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party and Nationalist Congress Party met 70 representatives of the minority community Monday evening. The main opposition party in the State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), did not participate in the all-party delegation, with its leaders claiming that they were kept out of the delegation by the NC-Congress ruling alliance. Following a meeting with the representatives of minority community last evening, APD today held a 5-hour long meeting with the representatives of majority community. A number of religious and political leaders from various parties participated in the meeting and presented their grievances and demands. It was learnt that after meeting with both the communities separately, the delegation proposed a joint meeting between the two communities. “The meeting was fixed at 4:30 p.m at the office complex of Deputy Commissioner. The representatives of majority community welcomed the move and reached the venue at the scheduled time. We waited till 7 p.m but no one turned up from the other side,” Imam Jamia Masjid Kishtwar, Farooq Ahmed, said. “We will continue our efforts to bring an end to the stalemate and fresh efforts are being made”, a Congress leader, part of the delegation, said. If insiders are to be believed, the minorities stayed away from the joint meeting after Minister for Medical Education, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, assured that BJP leader Sunil Sharma, accused of instigating violence, will be arrested in case he is found guilty. “It has created resentment among the minorities here,” they said. Earlier during the meeting with majority community leaders, some of the speakers, even from ruling parties, demanded that Kishtwar be made part of Kashmir Division due to the “continuous discrimination” against the people of Chenab Valley. “It is time that the State is reorganized and Chenab Valley be made part of Kashmir Division as we have always faced step-motherly treatment at the hands of our representatives from Jammu,” a National Conference leader is said to have told the delegation. The community representatives beside repeating the demands made earlier with the Ministerial Team said that VDCs were extra-constitutional force operating mainly in the mountainous region but some political parties were opposing their dissolution only for their vote bank politics. “People irrespective of religion have faced the high handedness of these armed civilians and it is right time that such Committees are disbanded”, the delegates were told. It was alleged that despite the fact that the clash broke out between two communities, the BJP and other right wing organizations tried to project it “as a clash between nationalist and anti-national forces in the region.” “An impression was created at the national level that all people from the majority community in Kishtwar were culprits and it was only the people from the other community who have suffered due to the violence,” a speaker said.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 02:35:00 +0000
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