Steps prelude to resettlement of KPs need to be put on urgent priority: Chrungoo

Srinagar December 10:(KNS) "Steps that are prelude to the resettlement of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir valley need to be put on an immediate and urgent priority by the government, administration, political parties and the Pandit organistations", said  Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, senior BJP and Kashmiri Pandit leader and Incharge: Deptt of Political Affairs and Feedback, J&K-BJP while addressing a press conference at Srinagar today.  Chrungoo, who is on a two-day tour of the valley, also paid a visit to the famous and historic Ganpatyar Mandir, Habbakadal yesterday and took stock of the situation thereat.

"The situation of the Ganpatyar temple is very pathetic and its surroundings need reform and renovation to give it the grandeur it had. Bharaivnath temple at Chattabal, Srinagar has been converted into a virtual  skeleton of stones reminiscent of the ruins of medieval period while lands pertaining to a number of shrines and temples have been usurped and misused. Dharmarth Trust has miserably failed to do its duty and observe its obligations & responsibilities. In this context, I appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Hon'ble Lt. Governor of UT of J&K for the constitution  of a Board for all Hindu religious and cultural centers, temples and shrines of Kashmir as early as possible", said Chrungoo.

I also take this opportunity to express my thanks to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for re-registering my complaint to them along with a demand to establish "Special Crimes Tribunal" to go into the excesses committed against the Hindu-Sikh minorities of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, and forwarding it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for redressal and with a direction for associating the complainant with the action taken. The government of India is requested to take the necessary steps in this connection to pave way for the resettlement of the displaced Pandits in Kashmir valley as per their geo-political aspirations, eventually. It is also gratifying to note that the Kashmiri Pandit diaspora active under the banner of GKPD has also decided to introduce a Temples Bill in concurrence with the PNBMT, which is spearheading the movement for the Board, and also contribute to the redressal of genocide against the Hindu-Sikh minorities of the erstwhile state.

In connection with the recruitment of the non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit youth under the PM package, the administration has been requested to defer the requirement of submitting the "non-migrant certificates" at the time of the application for the jobs. It also needs to be made clear in this connection that all the non-migrant domicile Hindus in the valley are part and parcel of the Kashmiri Pandit community and should be treated as such for all practical purposes by the administration.

The voting percentage of  the DDC elections till date suggests that the voters are conscious of their rights and responsibilities, by and large, in the UT. An overall percentage of 50% voting in the UT despite severe cold, Covid19 situation and the background of the boycott politics in the valley, in particular, is not a mean achievement. The three (As) which cost lives of one lakh of people in the erstwhile state at last have been buried deep down the ground in J&K, possibly, for good ie, Azadi, Autonomy & Article 370/35A. People have already, many a time, given and will be further giving an appropriate reply to Pakistan and the separatist forces through these important DDC, BDC and Panchayat elections. 

The three-tier system of Panchyati-Raj has ultimately taken roots in the UT after seven decades of independence. The earlier rulers, irrespective of their separate identities, made it sure that the power remains concentrated in their hands and that the decentralization of power remains a distant dream, though there were constitutional obligations to implement the objectives of democracy in this regard. It surely raises questions about their intent regarding the democratic and constitutional traditions.(KNS) 

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