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Centre watching Kashmir situation

Vinay Kumar

S.K. Sinha is helping extremist forces to make pilgrimage hostage to communal politics: CPI(M)

Home Ministry asks State to take steps to bring peace
CPI(M) wants land transfer decision reviewed

TAKING TO THE STREETS: Kashmiris stage a protest against the decision to transfer forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, in Srinagar on Thursday. At right, protesters scramble for cover as police fire tear-gas shells in downtown Srinagar. - PHOTOS: NISSAR AHMAD, PTI

NEW DELHI: The Union government is watching closely the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the agitation by a section of people against the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) by the State government.

At meeting that was presided over by Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, the situation was reviewed, official sources said. Security agencies said at the meeting that anti-national and secessionist elements in the Kashmir Valley were instigating people to take to the streets.

The Home Ministry asked the State government to take all necessary steps to bring peace. The Valley has seen pitched battles between the police and protesters and so far three people were killed in police firing.

The protesters are demanding the scrapping of the Government Order on transfer of 39.88 hectares of land to the Board. They say the move will not only affect the environment but also change the demographic nature of the Valley.

CPI(M)’s charge

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday accused former Jammu and Kashmir Governor S.K. Sinha of helping fundamentalist and extremist forces to make the Amarnath pilgrimage hostage to communal politics.

In an editorial in the latest edition of the party organ, People’s Democracy, the CPI(M) asked the government to review the land transfer decision. “... the decision to transfer forest land should be reviewed. All the secular parties and forces in Jammu and Kashmir should ensure that the yatra is not made hostage to communal politics,” it said.

Pointing fingers at General (retd.) Sinha, who has stepped down as SASB chairman, the party said: “Gen. Sinha is known for his pro-BJP proclivities. He was appointed Jammu and Kashmir Governor after his stint as the Governor of Assam. It is a mystery why the UPA government persisted with him in this sensitive position for the full term. The role of General Sinha has only helped the fundamentalist and extremist forces like Syed Ali Geelani’s Hurriyat, to exploit this issue. The Hindutva forces are stoking feelings in Jammu and coming out in the streets,” the party said.

Noting that the land transfer had aroused fears that this would alter the Kashmiri identity, the CPI(M) claimed that the manner in which General Sinha behaved as the Governor and SASB chairman had exacerbated these fears. General Sinha also came in conflict with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad by insisting that the duration of the Amarnath Yatra be increased to two months, against the one-month schedule being continued by the State government, the editorial claimed.

Yatra resumes

Luv Puri reports from Jammu:

The Amarnath Yatra resumed on Thursday with a fresh batch of 2,906 pilgrims going to the cave shrine from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp. The yatra was suspended on Wednesday. Police said the batch that comprised 677 women and 118 children left in 88 vehicles at 5 a.m.

Although officials attributed the suspension of the yatra to the large crowds, the protest over the land transfer is being cited as the real reason. There have been large-scale cancellations by pilgrims in the wake of the protests.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has set June 30 as deadline for revocation of the G.O. on land transfer. Otherwise, it would withdraw support to the Azad-led coalition government.

The PDP has 19 members in the 87-member Assembly. The Congress has 21 MLAs and the support of eight independents. It also has the support of two CPI(M) members. As the Assembly elections are due in October, the impact of the PDP’s withdrawal would be minimal.

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