Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 25: National Conference today held Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti responsible for persecution and growing incidents of violence against Gujjars and Bakerwals in Jammu, saying that being incharge of the Home Ministry, she has failed in enforcing rule of law and reining in the coalition partner BJP, which has let lose its various wings to unleash scare among minorities.
“The organized attack on a hapless nomad family in Reasi should not be viewed in isolation, as it is part of an orchestrated campaign against the Gujjars, which is manifested in uprooting them from the lands they have been inhabiting since decades,” senior NC leader and former minister Mian Altaf Ahmed said while addressing a press conference at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here this afternoon.
Hitting out at the PDP, Mian Altaf wondered that the party which came to power on the plank of scrapping Task Force and ending atrocities of the police and security forces became perpetrator itself, which is evident by the prevailing grim scenario across the State, especially in the Valley. He alleged the PDP and BJP were superintending terror against their own people to satiate the agenda of New Delhi.
Mian Altaf described the Reasi incident as most barbaric and said movement of Gujjars towards high pastures and Behaks is a common phenomenon in Jammu and Kashmir, which dates back to the times of the Maharaja. “However, this time around, the RSS hooligans used the migration of live stock to the larger agenda of inciting passions”, he added.
Replying to the question of reporters, former Deputy Chairman and MLA Mendhar, Javed Rana described the PDP as an offshoot of the RSS that had been created years ago to do what they are doing currently in Kashmir and Jammu. He said the PDP has become a willing facilitator to target a section of society to satiate the overall agenda of the RSS.
Provincial president, Devender Singh Rana, who was also present in the press conference, said National Conference will continue to espouse the cause of the people living in three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He said the party stands for strengthening the bonds of amity between Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists.
Meanwhile, Gujjar Bakerwal Students’ Welfare Association (GBSWA) also held a press conference on the issue and termed Reasi incident as a pre-planned conspiracy of RSS goons.
“Since centuries, tribes in the world and India, especially in the J&K State, move from one place to another for their livelihood. They have to fight for the survival for their cattle sometimes even at the cast of their lives .They being the real protectors of the forest and the animals have been facing such mishappening and incidence as one in Reasi,” said
Nazma Shamshir, spokesperson of GBSWA.
Claiming that the Police statement of the tribes moving without permission, was baseless, she said the Constitution of India guarantees its citizens to freely move and reside in any part of the country. “No permission is needed for nomads to move on foot, while the needed permission for transporting their cattle on vehicles was already issued by the Divisional Commissioner Jammu to the concerned DCs on 27th March ,2017 vide No. 402/192/G2B/532131. Police is deliberately trying to distract the issue and trying to save anti social and communal forces which is very unfortunate,” she added.
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