No demographic changes in J&K: Shah to Apni Party
We think statehood will be given after delimitation process and polls, says Bukhari
NEWDELHI/SRINAGAR: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday dismissed the talk of demographic change in Jammu & Kashmir as baseless and assured a delegation of a newly-formed party in the Union territory that it will have a better domicile policy than other parts of the country and that there will be no discrimination in implementing central laws in the region.
In his interaction with a Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) delegation, led by ist president Altaf Bukhari, the home minister Shah emphasised that interests of all people will be taken care of.
NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday dismissed the talk of demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir as baseless and assured a delegation of a newly-formed party in the UT that it will have a better domicile policy than other parts of the country.
“... [Shah] emphasised that there is no intention of the government for demographic change in the region and all such talks have no basis at all,” said an official statement released after a delegation of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) met Shah in New Delhi.
The nullification of the constitutional provisions in August to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, which prevented non-residents from buying land and taking up jobs in the region, has triggered concerns about demographic changes in the erstwhile state.
In his interaction with the delegation, Shah emphasised that interests of all sections in the region will be taken care of. “The home minister assured the delegation that J&K will have a better domicile policy than other states in the country and said that a reasonable Economic Development Policy will be drafted soon after widespread consultation,’’ the statement said.
HT in January reported the Centre was working on a domicile policy to protect land rights in Jammu & Kashmir. Among the options under consideration is a mandatory requirement of 15-year residency in the region as the eligibility for government jobs and owning land there. Sale of agricultural land to outsiders is not allowed in some states and Union Territories under their domicile policies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also engaged the delegation on issues, including concerns over demographic change, when he met it on Saturday.
Shah reiterated Modi’s assurance to the delegation, which met him on Saturday, that the Centre will work to restore Jammu & Kashmir statehood “at an early opportunity”. “The home minister said this is also good for India’s interest, as the region is a border area,’’ the statement said.
Shah told the delegation that all decisions on the relaxation of restrictions imposed following changes to the region’s constitutional status in August were based on ground realities. “He [Shah] referred to steps like the release of people from preventive detention, restoration of the Internet, relaxation in curfew and added that even political prisoners will be freed in times to come as the main objective of the government is that not a single person should die, be it a common Kashmiri or security personnel,’’ the statement said.
Shah told the delegation that industrial policy will be announced for economic development and a land bank has been created in the region.
The JKAP’s formation and release of some detained political leaders, including Farooq Abdullah last week, have been seen as a possible prelude to the initiation of a political process in the erstwhile state. Jammu & Kashmir has been without an elected government since a PDP and the BJP collation government collapsed in June 2018.
The political process there came to a standstill when hundreds of people were detained in August as the Centre pushed through provisions nullifying Article 370 that granted Jammu & Kashmir its special status. Two of the three former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, detained in August remain under detention. Restrictions were also imposed on public movement along with a communication blockade then ahead of the nullification.
JKAP chief Altaf Bukhari, who led the delegation, said they are “very much” satisfied with the meetings. “Our aim was to seek relief for people of Jammu & Kashmir, who have suffered a lot after the revocation of the Article 370,” Bukhari said. “We think the statehood will be given only after the process of delimitation will be over and the elections are held. It is fair but we hope other things like reservation in jobs and land will be done fast.”