Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 4: Accusing “black-sheep” sitting in power corridors of reducing the problems of J&K people to a perception of ‘mere Kashmir problem’, the ‘S. O. S. International’—an organization of PoJK displaced persons today blamed the ruling NDA Government at the Centre for completely crushing the age-old movement of PoJK refugees under its ill-conceived intentions.
During a refugees awareness rally of the PoJK DPs here today, it was alleged that the Government has taken away all rights of refugees vis-a-vis land, property, job, language, clan, tribe, ethnicity, political empowerment, education under a well-thought plan to crush their movement.
“In October 2014, the then Jammu and Kashmir Government had approved a comprehensive package for the displaced persons of PoJK. The package was an outcome of the decades-long struggle of community leaders. We demand that the Government of India should religiously and in-principle fulfill the package, announced for PoJK refugees before the formation of the BJP-led Government at the centre in 2014, without any further delay,” Chuni said while addressing a rally.
He said this package included Rs 25 lakh compensation for each PoJK community family, reservation in professional and technical colleges of the country for our youths and a provision of creation of 8500 jobs for the youths belonging to PoJK community. Unfortunately, the BJP leadership in Jammu and Kashmir has never bothered to utter a single word about this package and they continue to maintain a cryptic silence over it, he added.
He also demanded that all 5,300 PoJK displaced families settled outside Jammu and Kashmir should be brought into the ambit of the package passed for PoJK refugees by the then J&K Government in October 2014. He also took a dig at the centre for reserving a single seat for the displaced PoJK people and described it as “humiliating” and “insulting” for a community of 17 lakh people.
“A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by former vice president of India, Venkaiah Naidu, in its report in 2014, recommended allotting eight out of the 24 seats reserved for PoJK community to the displaced people from PoJK living in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure their political empowerment,” he claimed.
He also demanded ST status for the PoJK DPs.
Others who addressed the gathering included Prof NN Sharma, VK Datta, Bhai Ram Singh, Jagjit Singh, Prof Suresh Gupta, Prof PP Raina, Ved Raj Bali, DS Chib, Daleep Sharma and others.
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