Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 2: Strange but true. Six months extension granted to a high level Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Working Group of Justice Sagheer Ahmad (now dead) has expired without even a single meeting called by the Panel, set up by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to go into recommendations of the Group including autonomy, self-rule, Centre-State relations, problems of refugees and discrimination etc.
The latest extension to the CSC, which was seventh since it was set up in January 2010 by the Cabinet, after Justice Sagheer Ahmad submitted the Working Group recommendations to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009, expired two days back i.e. April 30.
Official sources told the Excelsior that sixth extension of the CSC comprising eight Cabinet Ministers-four each from national Conference and Congress-for a period of six months with effect from September 30,2012 to April 30, 2013 expired without even a single meeting of the CSC.
“Not a single meeting of the Committee was called during six months period,” sources said, adding that major reason for delay in convening meeting of the Panel for submitting an interim or full report was the differences between two Alliance partners-National Conference and Congress, whose Ministers formed the high level CSC.
The Government had reconstituted the CSC on February 18, which was necessitated following reshuffle in the Council of Ministry on January 15, 2013 in which two members of the Committee-Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) were dropped. CAPD and Transport Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan and Planning Minister Ajay Sadhotra had replaced them.
The Committee headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather now comprised Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mr Ramzan and Mr Sadhotra (all from NC), Housing Minister Raman Bhalla, PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din (all from Congress).
Sources said sixth extension of the CSC had expired on September 30, 2012. From September 30, 2012 to January 11, 2013, the CSC remained without extension. The Government extended its term for a period of six months on January 11 with retrospective effect till April 30.
During sixth extension, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had asked the Committee to prepare its recommendations within the time limit, which the Committee failed to do and was granted seventh extension during which it didn’t hold even a single meeting but to say of preparing an interim or full report.
Sources said the Government has been left with no option but to grant another extension to the Committee unless it wanted the Panel to die its own death.
They added that the Congress Ministers were determined to oppose the National Conference move of submitting pro-autonomy recommendations by the CSC. Sources said the Congress Ministers have made it clear to their National Conference colleagues in the CSC that they stand for Indira-Sheikh accord for basis to any solution to Kashmir problem and not autonomy.
However, Sagheer Ahmad Working Group had recommended autonomy as a solution to Kashmir problem.
The National Conference was a strong supporter of autonomy.
Sources said with Parliament and Assembly elections due next year, both the parties didn’t want to dilute their stand and there was every possibility that the standoff between two Alliance partners in the CSC would continue if it was granted another extension.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had constituted five Working Groups in Jammu and Kashmir as a head of UPA-I. Of them, four had submitted their reports to Dr Singh while fifth Group headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmad, a retired Judge of Supreme Court, had submitted his report to the Chief Minister in December 2009.
Sources said the CSC in its previous meetings had done a lot of work and reached consensus on some of the issues but the differences persisted on autonomy.
The CSC had held nearly 17 meetings since it was set up in January 2010.
Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group had touched various sensitive subjects as it had been mandated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to submit a report on strengthening Centre-State relations and other subjects of discrimination and problems faced by refugees. It had recommended autonomy for the State and a full and final decision on Article 370 of the Constitution of India, granting special status to the State. It had also made a host of other recommendations as per its mandate.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during first stint of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had in March 2006 set up five Working Groups in the Second Round Table Conference on Jammu and Kashmir held in Srinagar. They include ‘Working Group on Confidence Building Measures Across Segments of Society in the State’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Centre-State Relations’, ‘Working Group on Ensuring Good Governance’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Relations Across LoC’ and ‘Working Group on Economic Reforms’.
Four out of five Working Groups had submitted their reports in April 2007 to the Prime Minister during third Round Table Conference on Kashmir held in New Delhi.
However, report of fifth Working Group headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmed was delayed due to completely divergent opinions given by its members and was submitted by Justice Ahmed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The Chief Minister had later submitted the report to the Prime Minister.
The Working Group No. 5, headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmed, had high profile members like BJP leader and former Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand (then Speaker), Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, Choudhary Aslam (all from Congress), Abdul Rahim Rather (then Leader of Opposition) and MY Taing (both NC), Thupstan Chhewang, then MP Leh, Mehbooba Mufti, PDP president, Harshdev Singh, MY Tarigami and Ashwani Sharma (all MLAs) and Dr Ajay Chrungoo among others.
All of them had different opinions with NC batting for autonomy, PDP for self rule, BJP for revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, Congress for 1975 Indira-Sheikh accord, Chhewang for Union Territory status to Leh, Harshdev Singh and Ashwani Sharma for ending discrimination with Jammu region and holding delimitation of Assembly constituencies.
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