Jammu, April 21: Accusing the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha led Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory administration of sabotaging the resettlement plan for Displaced Persons from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Rajiv Chuni has threatened self immolation in case PoJK DPs were denied the Pahari Status.
In a Press Conference attended by Prof. NN Sharma, VK Datta, Amarjeet Singh, Ved Raj Bali, Dalip Chib, Jagjit Singh, Chuni said , J&K State Cabinet headed by Omar Abdullah in October 2014 proposed a financial package for PoJK DPs and sent it across to the Government of India, seeking approval for its implementation.
The proposed package promised Rs. 25 lacs per family, reservation in professional and technical colleges of the country for the wards of PoJK DPs and 8,500 government jobs for educated unemployed youths of PoJK DPs.
“Modi government instead of implementing this package sent it to Parliamentary Standing Committee for review,” Chuni said, adding, “Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 183rd report submitted to Parliament recommended Rs. 30 lacs per family instead of Rs. 25 lacs recommended by the J&K State Cabinet. PSC also endorsed other components of package recommended by J&K State Cabinet.”
Subsequently, Chuni said, PM Modi on November 07, 2015 announced Rs. 80 thousand crores package in Kashmir for J&K State that includes Rs. 2000 crores for PoJK DPs.
“When Rs. 2000 crores of rupees released in November 2016 it was clearly mentioned that this amount should be provided to PoJK DPs families within three months but after the lapse of 6 years only half of the PoJK DPs families got this relief,” he said.
“Now the Government has abruptly stopped the cash assistance scheme without providing to rest of the families,” he added.
Chuni decried that “the Government of India was sleeping over other recommendations of the J&K cabinet and PSC. Even Rs. 5.5 lacs released instead of Rs. 25 lakh recommended by J&K State Cabinet and Rs. 30 lacs recommended by PSC.”
Attributing the delay in disbursement of financial relief to PoJK DPs, he further said, “the bureaucratic hurdles at every step has hampered the process. The process needs to be simplified so that all the deserving PoJK displaced families get the relief without delay.”
On the PSC recommended for providing Assembly seats to PoJK DPs out of 24 reserved for PoJK territory, he said, “At the time of passing J&K Reorganization Bill on August 05, 2019 Modi government forgets PSC recommendations and has again locked 24 Assembly seats for PoJK Territory.”
Commenting on a recent legislation brought in by the J&K government for identifying ‘Pahari Speaking People (PSP)’ in J&K, he said, “We qualify all the prerequisite conditions including clan, tribe and mother tongue, to qualify for the Pahari status. But the government is not issuing us PSP Certificate.”
Asserting that he had applied on November 27 last year, he said, “DC Jammu and Tehsildar Jammu Khas haven’t responded to my application despite a J&K High Court order.”
The court order, he said, directs the officials concerned to decide his application within two months. “I submitted the certified copy of the court order February 24, 2022 to the Tehsildar Jammu Khas but he hasn’t responded to date,” he said, adding that DC Jammu, Tehsildar Jammu Khas were not answering his repeated reminders.
“The UT administration is hell bent to ruin our community completely,” he said, stressing that the demands of the PoJK DPs including issuance of PSP certificates, implementation of the relief package with simplified procedures, allotment of minimum eight Assembly seats to PoJK DPs, reservation in professional and technical colleges of the country, employment package for educated unemployed youths be met without any further delay.
“If these issues are not resolved by the end of April 2022, I’ll set myself on fire any day in May, 2022 to register protest against ongoing injustice with my community,” threatened Chuni, adding that others too will follow suit in the days to come.