Sagheer CSC fails to meet even once in 2013

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 7: The Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group, whose recommendations had been given at the behest of no less a person than Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, is all set to die its own death as eight members strong Panel hasn’t met even a once during the past more than one year due to sharp differences among the two coalition partners—the National Conference and Congress on some of its recommendations.
“The CSC, which has four members each from National Conference and Congress, didn’t hold even a single meeting during 2013,’’ official sources told the Excelsior attributing the inordinate delay in holding the meeting to lack of consensus between the NC and Congress members on the issue of autonomy.
With election year of both Lok Sabha and Assembly having set in and both parties likely to stick to their stand on autonomy due to ‘political compulsions’, there is every possibility that the CSC might be allowed to die its own death though a NC member claimed that the Committee would submit its report on some of the recommendations of Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group.
According to sources, not even a single meeting of the CSC was held last year even after re-constitution of the CSC as the National Conference and Congress, whose four Cabinet Ministers each formed the Panel, were unable to reach understanding on submitting recommendations on the points raised by the Group.
Sources said both the parties have been sticking to their stand on autonomy. While the National Conference was strongly advocating autonomy, the Congress was opposed to it and stuck to its stand for making 1975 Indira-Sheikh accord as the basis of any solution.
“There appeared to be no meeting ground between the two coalition partners on Justice Sagheer Ahmed recommendations especially on autonomy. While a consensus has generally been evolved on other recommendations of the Group, autonomy is the only hurdle on which the two partners differed strongly and no side was ready to give-in on its stand keeping in view the elections year,’’ sources said.
Several times extended term of Sagheer Committee is due to expire in the middle of February this year.
The CSC on Sagheer Ahmed Working Group has not met once during the past over 14 months. It didn’t hold any meeting during seventh extension of six months from November 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013, mainly due to reshuffle in the Council of Ministry in which two CSC members—Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) were dropped.
From April 30, 2013 to August end, the Committee remained without extension though it had been assured that its term would be extended, which was formally done on August 29.
That was eighth extension of the CSC since it was constituted in January 2010 by the order of the State Cabinet after Justice (retired) Sagheer Ahmed (now dead) had submitted his report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009.
The Government had reconstituted the CSC on February 18 after the Ministry reshuffle and replaced Qamar Ali Akhoon and Surjit Singh Slathia (both from NC) with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir and Planning Minister Ajay Sadhotra.
The Committee headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has its members including Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mr Mir and Mr Sadhotra (all from NC), Housing Minister Raman Bhalla, PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din (all from Congress).
Sources said the Congress Ministers were determined to oppose the National Conference move of submitting pro-autonomy recommendations by the CSC. Sources said the Congress Ministers have made it clear to their National Conference colleagues in the CSC that they stand for Indira-Sheikh accord for basis to any solution to Kashmir problem and not autonomy.
However, Sagheer Ahmed Working Group had recommended autonomy as a solution to Kashmir problem.
Sources said the CSC in its previous meetings had done a lot of work and reached consensus on some of the issues but the differences persisted on autonomy.
The CSC had held nearly 17 meetings since it was set up in January 2010.
Justice Sagheer Ahmed Working Group had touched various sensitive subjects as it had been mandated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to submit a report on strengthening Centre-State relations and other subjects of discrimination and problems faced by refugees. It had recommended autonomy for the State and a full and final decision on Article 370 of the Constitution of India, granting special status to the State. It had also made a host of other recommendations as per its mandate.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during first stint of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had in March 2006 set up five Working Groups in the Second Round Table Conference on Jammu and Kashmir held in Srinagar. They include ‘Working Group on Confidence Building Measures Across Segments of Society in the State’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Centre-State Relations’, ‘Working Group on Ensuring Good Governance’, ‘Working Group on Strengthening Relations Across LoC’ and ‘Working Group on Economic Reforms’.
Four out of five Working Groups had submitted their reports in April 2007 to the Prime Minister during third Round Table Conference on Kashmir held in New Delhi.
However, report of fifth Working Group headed by Justice Sagheer Ahmed was delayed due to completely divergent opinions given by its members and was submitted by Justice Ahmed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December 2009. The Chief Minister had later submitted the report to the Prime Minister.

Follow our WhatsApp channel