Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 7: The Union Government has issued advisories to the State Government on anti-militancy measures, maintenance of law and order, communal harmony and other factors that could disturb the situation ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The advisories were issued at a high level meeting in New Delhi chaired by Union Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth and Home Secretary Anil Goswami. Principal Secretary (Home) Suresh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Headquarters Dr Shesh Pal Vaid and Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu Zone, Rajesh Kumar represented Jammu and Kashmir in the meeting.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Union Government has asked the State Government to take all possible measures to keep militancy under check by maintaining strict surveillance on anti-national elements and maintenance of law and order by strict vigil on anti-social elements.
The State was cautioned that incidents like Kishtwar, which witnessed large scale arson on August 9 on the occasion of Eid festival, shouldn’t recur as they had the potential of spreading to more parts of the State including the country.
The top officers of the Union Government stressed on the State officials to take all possible measures to maintain communal harmony, which certain forces could try to disturb ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Though the Cabinet Secretary and the Home Secretary had called the meeting mainly to caution the States including Jammu and Kashmir to check attempts to vitiate communal harmony before Lok Sabha elections, the States where Assembly elections are due in 2013 and 2014 were also asked to take similar measures for the Assembly polls.
While Lok Sabha elections are due in April-May 2014, the Assembly elections in the State are scheduled to be held in November-December 2014.
Sources said the three top civil and police officers of Jammu and Kashmir presented their view point on the situation to the Cabinet Secretary and the Home Secretary. They briefed the Government of India that the State was fully alive to the situation and had taken all preventive measures to ensure that communal harmony and law and order was maintained at all costs.
“Steps have also been taken to keep militancy under check,” they said.
Sources said the Government of India officials issued certain guidelines required to be adopted for keeping the State free of violence especially the communal riots before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Centre shared the inputs with top brass of civil and police officers about Jammu and Kashmir especially on militancy, law and order and communal situation.
According to sources, the State officials have assured the Union of India that the Government was fully prepared to meet with any situation and would adopt a strategy to keep situation well under control before both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State.
They said the Government of India officials would be holding a separate meeting with the State officials in the next few days for a detailed review of the situation on election front. They added that the Central Government was worried that not only the militants but even the anti-social elements would try to create trouble before the elections and that was the reason that it held meeting with top officials of various States including Jammu and Kashmir.
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