*Demands 8 Assembly seats, Pahari status
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 28: Lashing out at the BJP Government at the Centre for step-motherly treatment with Pak occupied Jammu Kashmir displaced persons over the nomination in Assembly as well as pick and choose in according Pahari status, Chairman of SOS International-an organization of the PoJK Displaced community, today questioned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
“Once again this Government has established that sky is the limit for the Valley migrants while the displaced people from PoJK are the children of a lesser God,” he said while talking to media persons in presence of Prof NN Sharma, VK Datta, Amarjeet Singh, Ved Raj Bali, Bhai Ram Singh, Jorawar Singh, Daleep Chib, Jagjit Singh and Satinder Dev Gupta here today.
While elaborating, the DP leader said that those who migrated from within the country and not going back to their homes despite return of normalcy, have been considered for nomination of two Legislative Assembly seats while on the other hand, the PoJK Displaced community, whose number is much more higher and who are unable to go to their native land which is still under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947, have been given only one seat.
Moreover, he added, the Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 183rd Report submitted on 22-December-2014 in both Houses of Parliament has already recommended de-freezing of at least eight Assembly seats for the displaced people, out of 24 reserved Assembly seats for the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Chuni further said that even the Delimitation Commission has recommended for adequate representation to the displaced persons from PoJK, which is understood to be at least eight Assembly seats for the community by way of nomination.
He drew attention towards another discriminatory move of the Government to deprive a large chunk of PoJK DPs from their natural right of being a member of Pahari community/ clan. “Lakhs of PoJK Displace families temporarily settled in Jammu and other areas are being denied Pahari certificate notwithstanding the fact that entire population of the displaced community belongs to the Pahari tribe, who are native of districts of Poonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad areas, which are now under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947,” he said.
As per the existing government provisions, to claim the benefit of Pahari category status, it is mandatory for the beneficiary to be a member of Pahari clan, tribe and ethnicity. But the government is openly violating the provisions of their own ‘Pahadi Act’ in lieu of vote bank. All the displaced people of Poonch, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad districts belong to Pahari clan, tribes and ethnicities, irrespective of where they are living in displacement today. He added that the government is giving Pahari certificates only to those people who are living in Rajouri and Poonch districts.
To consider all the people living in Rajouri and Poonch districts as Pahari is a big conspiracy which is being done only with a view to increase the vote bank. This is a sinister game being played by the government through which some fake people who are neither the ancestral citizens of Rajouri or Poonch district nor belong to hill tribes, he alleged.
He made a fervent appeal to all the leaders of BJP belonging to the displaced PoJK community to resign from their respective positions on moral grounds.
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