Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 2: Infighting in the Congress today came out in open with Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din charging his Cabinet and party colleague Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control with leveling “baseless allegations’’ of irregularities against him in PHE Department with the motive of sabotaging his prospectus of becoming the Pradesh Congress chief. He declared that he was ready not only to face House Committee but a Joint House Committee for “wrong doings’’, if any and the probe shall start from 1992.
Counter attack by Taj Mohi-ud-Din came as Mr Sharma once again said in the Assembly that there had been no system of engagement of need based and daily wage workers in the PHE Department and he didn’t know how and on what basis they had been engaged. He declared that the persons responsible for such engagements would be exposed.
Mr Sharma was responding to a question of NPP MLA Yash Pal Kundal in the Assembly and subsequent supplementaries raised by various members with CPM legislator MY Tarigami threatening that he would be forced to take the issue of backdoor appointments before the Prime Minister and the Parliament.
Several MLAs of ruling National Conference including veteran party leader and former Minister Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal also agitated over the issue saying the MLAs should be taken into confidence while engagements of workers as they were the elected representatives. The NC MLAs continued to protest in the House from their benches wanting to know where the MLAs would go if they were not taken into confidence in the engagements of jobs.
Worthwhile to mention here that Taj Mohi-ud-Din was holding the charge of PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control for past about four years. In January 15, 2013 reshuffle in the Council of Ministry, the charge of the Department had gone to Sham Lal Sharma.
The issue of irregularities in PHE procurement had earlier rocked the Legislative Council with ruling NC demanding constitution of the House Committee but Chairman Legislative Council, Amrit Malhotra had yesterday turned down the demand.
Speaking to reporters in the lawns of Civil Secretariat, Taj said the charges being leveled against him (by Mr Sharma) had no basis and he was proud of the works done by him in his Department for last four years.
Asserting that the charges had their origin in internal bickering within the Congress, Taj said they were aimed at marring his prospectus of becoming the PCC (I) chief.
“I am an educated Minister with 10 years experience. I know how to run the Ministry. I don’t need to learn from a child. He (Mr Sharma) is following to proverb give bad name to a dog and kill him. Till proved otherwise, I have been labeled as thief. He has set a very bad precedent, which is unheard of in political history, by speaking against his own party colleague,’’ Taj said, adding he was feeling ashamed that he was colleague of such a person.
Without actually naming Sham Lal Sharma, Taj said that he (Mr Sharma) was not `Raja Harishchander as he was trying to pose. He said if one finger was pointed at him he can also point three fingers on his colleague but he wouldn’t do so. “I’m proud of my work and tenure. I have created history in the PHE Department. I generated Rs 1000 crore worth revenue in a year during my tenure and started work on first ever two kilometers lake in Jammu City. The work on lake has now been stopped for past over two months,’’ he regretted.
Taj Mohi-ud-Din said he was himself volunteering to face not only the House Committee of Legislative Council or Assembly but Joint House Committee of both the Houses to probe the charges being labeled by the new Minister against him pertaining to procurement and engagements during his tenure as the PHE Minister as well as right from 1992.
However, he added that the charges were nothing but an attempt by the Minister to settle personal scores with him, defame him politically and sabotage his chances of becoming the PCC (I) chief. He said he would also raise the issue in the Cabinet meeting.
Asserting that he was a neutral man in the Congress, Taj said the charges were nothing but to defame him politically and stop him from rising to the pose of PCC (I) chief.
“Never in the political history, you have heard a Cabinet Minister leveling charges against his own colleague. This is unprecedented act. Moreover, it is always collective responsibility in the Government. When I had taken charge of the CAPD Ministry I too had detected some wrong doings but I never pointed out them in the open. I settled the issue,’’ Taj said regretting that the Minister has forgotten the goods done by him in the PHE Department. He said the Minister was afraid of him and was leveling allegations.
He said he had started third party inspection by the Government of India, set up a Purchase Committee and brought transparency in the Department. He added that the new Minister has stopped work on lake, park and other projects in Jammu. “Who is instigating him’’? he asked.
On NC leader Devender Rana and other party members demand in the Legislative Council for setting up a House Committee on PHE procurements, he said they had right to raise the demand as they were instigated by the Minister’s remarks.
“I have served the Department to the best of my ability. He (Sham Sharma) will spoil the Department,’’ Taj alleged.
On engagement of workers in the PHE, an issue which rocked the Legislative Assembly during Question Hour today, Taj said he hadn’t engage any worker. About 800 workers were engaged by the Government officers on need basis. “I have no knowledge of appointments. The already engaged workers were not being paid,’’ he said.
He alleged that the Minister was also trying to target his cousin, who was Chief Engineer in the Department.
On being approached for comments on serious charges made against him by Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Sham Lal Sharma said as far as the appointment of the PCC (I) chief was concerned it was the prerogative of AICC (I) president Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.
“The party has nothing to do with the PCC (I) chief’s appointment,’’ he said.
On the constitution of House Committee or Joint House Committee to probe the charges, Mr Sharma said only the Council Chairman or the Assembly Speaker had the right to appoint the Committee(s) to look into the charges.
He added that he has already appointed a fact finding committee to look into the purchases and other aspects of the Department and everything would be clear in one month time period.
“The inquiry has been initiated and the facts would come out,’’ he said.
Mr Sharma said that even when the demand of House Committee to look into the PHE procurements was being made in the Legislative Council, he had assured the House members that they should have faith in him as the facts would come out in the inquiry ordered by him.
On the issue of factionalism within the Congress, he said that working of the Government and the party are two different issues.
“What is discussed in the Legislature is the working of the Department and the Government. Where is the question of factionalism in it,” he asked.
Earlier in the Assembly, as soon as PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham Lal Sharma finished his reply to the question of NPP MLA Yash Pal Kundal on engagements of daily wagers, casual and CP workers in the PHE Department, a number of NC MLAs including Aijaz Jan, Irfan Shah, Peer Afaq, Shamima Firdous, Mohammad Ashraf and Bimla Luthra were on their feet protesting from their benches against the engagements without the knowledge of MLAs.
CPM MLA Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami and Independent MLA Engineer Abdul Rashid also joined the issue.
The Minister, in his reply, had stated that 7390 workers had been engaged on daily wage basis, casual labourers and CP workers in PHE Department in Jammu/Kashmir and were being paid Rs 125 per day wages.
The figures revealed that 1167 workers had been engaged in Jammu district, 503 in Samba, 498 in Kathua, 567 in Udhampur, 287 in Reasi, 618 in Rajouri, 417 in Kishtwar, 564 in Doda and none in Ramban totaling 4905 in Jammu region, 885 in Srinagar, 161 in Ganderbal, 454 in Budgam, 542 in Baramulla, 248 in Bandipora, 51 in Pulwama, 22 in Anantnag, 17 in Kulgam and 105 in Kupwara totaling 2485 in Kashmir region.
Mr Sharma said there was shortfall of 26,448 staff members in PHE Department in Jammu and 18,772 in Kashmir.
Highly agitated and emotional CPM MLA MY Tarigami, who represents Kulgam in the Assembly, was out of his seat shouting that it was not the justice.
“What kind of discrimination this is? You look at the figures of Srinagar, other areas, where hundreds of workers have been engaged while in Kulgam the figure hasn’t crossed even one and a half dozen,’’ he regretted and declared that if justice was not done in the House, he would take the matter to the Parliament and the Prime Minister of India.
“This is nothing but `banderbaant’. I have very serious concern about this. Who has made these appointments? If MLAs didn’t know about the appointments, who else would?’’ Mr Tarigami asked.
NC MLA Irfan Shah and Peer Afaq said they represent Srinagar and were not even aware of such engagements.
Intervening, senior NC MLA and former Minister Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal described the issue as very sensitive saying he too had been the Minister of PHE Department for three years when there was no staff to look after the schemes after 1975.
“The Chief Engineers had told us that the schemes would collapse due to shortage of staff. The posts were handed over to the MLAs. I even remember that 78 posts were given to Syed Ali Shah Geelani (who was then a MLA). Presently also, the MLAs should be taken into confidence and posts filled through them,’’ Dr Kamaal said.
Engineer Rashid said the MLAs have been rendered as beggars. “Sham (Sharma) has been saying that Taj (Mohi-ud-Din) has committed `ghotalas’ (scams). Where shall I go?’’ he asked.
Speaker Mubarak Gul, however, asked Engineer Rashid to give proof of his charges. “I have hundreds of proofs. Many back-door appointments have been made,’’ Mr Rashid added.
Irfan Shah, NC MLA said “we are 5-6 MLAs from Srinagar here. We want to know with whose political considerations, these appointments have been made. We even didn’t know of these appointments. Every MLA should get his share’’.
The NC MLAs continued to protest from their benches against the appointments till the Question Hour was over.
NPP leader and former Minister Harshdev Singh said the MLAs, cutting across political affiliations, have voiced concern over the engagements. “The Government had said in the House that it planned to recruit 43,000 casual workers but when we ask the procedure, they refused to reveal the modus operandi. I feel many casual workers had already been recruited. What is the criteria adopted for recruitments? Whether 43,000 workers would also be recruited in this style (the backdoor)?’’ he asked.
PDF MLA and former Minister Hakim Mohammad Yasin said he didn’t want removal of the engaged workers. There had been a Government circular through which some appointments have been cancelled. The Government should see whether the appointments were genuine or not, he added.
Amidst protests by the MLAs on engagement of workers (during the tenure of Taj Mohi-ud-Din, now Medical Education Minister and prior to him), he was seen leaving the Assembly along with his files even as seven minutes were still left for completion of the Question Hour.
Replying to supplementaries raised by the MLAs on the question, Sham Lal Sharma said the MLAs have genuine concerns.
“We are custodian of people. The engagements should have been made in a transparent manner but there was no system adopted for them. We have not hidden anything. We don’t know on what basis these engagements have been made. I have asked the officials to work out the requirements within one month. Whosoever has engaged the workers would be exposed,’’ Mr Sharma said.
He admitted that there had been no policy on engagements and the concerns being expressed by the MLAs was genuine.
“Now the Department has taken comprehensive view of the engagements. We are also political animals. We have identified 972 Class-IV vacancies in the Department, which would be filled up through recruitment policy,’’ Mr Sharma said.
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