Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, Sept 3: At the conclusion of three-day dharna led by senior BJP leader Thakur Ranjit Singh in favour of demands of border area people at Chachwal near International Border falling in Hiranagar Constituency in district Samba, about a thousand BJP workers courted arrest today.
They were led by State BJP president & MLA, Jugal Kishore Sharma in presence of State general secretary (Org) Ashok Koul. Those arrested included national executive member & State chief spokesperson Dr. Jitendra Singh, State general secretary Rajiv Jasrotia, BJP cells incharge Sat Sharma (CA) State spokesperson Sanjiv Sharma, district Samba president Kashmira Singh and several prominent party activists.
The dharna was held in support of the various demands of the International Border people which include special economic package for these regions, removing discrimination in the recruitment in Central Security Forces viz-a-viz the residents of LoC, ensuring timely and round the clock availability of power and water both for irrigation and drinking purposes, payment of compensation on account of being denied access to their fields and lands beyond the border fencing.
Speaking on the occasion, Jugal Kishore Sharma said that the State Government is bent upon to deny the benefits to these people which it routinely provides to the people of LoC areas on account of its sectarian bias. The withdrawal of issuance of Dogra Certificate, not lessening the merit requirement for recruitment in security forces, nor paying any compensation on account of losses suffered by the people of the International Border regions by preventing them from going to their fields are prominent instances of the State Government’s unconcern for the suffering of these people.
Dr Jitendra Singh said Dogra Certificate envisaged by the Maharaja was based on scientific rationale of martial traits of border area community but by generalizing it, the Coalition Government had tried to play discriminatory politics. He also questioned the Chief Minister’s wisdom in recommending withdrawal of AFSPA from district Samba where Pakistan was digging underground tunnels and regular infiltration bids were carrying on uninterrupted.
Sat Sharma (CA) supported the demand of reservation for border area people on the pattern of reservation for RBA or Pahari speaking people.
Th. Ranjit Singh, said that BJP will not rest till the problems of the border people are not solved. He added that BJP has been always in the forefront for solving the problems of the people.
The participants of the dharna alongwith the BJP leaders afterwards went to cross the border fencing to attend the lands of these border people but were enroute taken into preventive custody by the local police in presence of the Executive Magistrate and as such prevented from visiting the fields of the local residents lying beyond border fencing.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
