He said considerable progress has been made on providing transit accommodation and jobs to Kashmiri pandit migrants in the valley under the Prime Minister #39;s Development Package.
Tag: Kashmiri Pandits
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J&K’s statehood should be restored before holding assembly polls: Ghulam Nabi Azad
By PTI
SRINAGAR: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday called for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood before assembly elections are held and batted for land and job rights for its residents.
Speaking to reporters outside the Kheer Bhawani temple complex in Tullamulla area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, Azad said Kashmiri Pandits who left the valley in early 1990s in the wake of eruption of militancy be brought back.
“The elections… should be conducted soon. But before the elections, statehood should be restored, which is very important. Kashmiri Pandits should be brought back.”Our land and job (rights), which were taken away after Article 370 was revoked, should be secured like they were before (August 5, 2019) through a new law when the statehood is restored,” he said.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre announced abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and its bifurcation into union territories.
The former J&K chief minister visited the temple shortly after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit earlier in the morning.
Gandhi had left for Hazratbal shrine when Azad reached Tullamulla.
“I came from Delhi today, but the flight reached late and that is why we could not meet here. But since it was in my programme, I came here and will also go to Hazratbal,” he said.
Asked about the BJP’s charge that the Congress party had lost its credibility, Azad said, “Everyone knows who has the credibility.”
After the Kheer Bhawani visit, Azad went to Hazratbal shrine here to pay obeisance.
Later, he joined Gandhi at the inauguration of Congress Bhawan at M A Road here.
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Amid calls for separate UT for Kashmiri Pandits, J&K Lt Governor asks Centre to facilitate their return
Express News Service
SRINAGAR: Amid calls for a separate Union Territory for Kashmir pundits, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday set deadlines for the completion of 6,000 transit accommodations being built in the Valley to accommodate Pandit migrants employed in the local government.The L-G asked the officials to register the entire Pandit population to facilitate their return to the Valley.
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“We must ensure that the entire Pandit population is registered with the J&K government,” Sinha said. The Pandits migrated en-masse from the Valley after the outbreak of militancy in J&K in the 1990s.
They are now living in Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country. Meanwhile, a Kashmiri Pandit group – Panun Kashmir on Sunday demanded the creation of separate Union Territory for Pandits in the Valley.
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No more displacement, RSS General Secretary assures J&K Pandits
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Citing the example of resettlement of Jews in Israel, newly elected Sahkaryawah (general secretary) of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Dattatreya Hosbole on Wednesday told Kashmiri Pandits that Jammu and Kashmir is at an important historical juncture after the dilution of the Article 370 and abrogation of Article 35A.He said they should resolve to work for the revival of their culture in their roots. Stating that peace and social amity are key to reclaim past glory of the region, Hosbole stressed on India’s religious, cultural and linguistic diversity.
“Kashmiri Pandits have faced seven displacements, while being victims of violence and religious extremism. This will remain the last displacements of the Pandits. The government fulfilled long cherished demands for the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35 A.
But now, people have to take the work forward to reclaim the past glory,” said Hosbole in a video-conference speech from Assam to the three-day long Navreh festival organised in J&K.