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Protests continue in Jammu

Staff Reporter

Jammu: The former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader, Mangat Ram Sharma, and his family on Thursday were the target of a mob agitating against the cancellation of the Amarnath land transfer order.

Mr. Sharma was on his way to the Kashmiri Pandit-dominated Bhagwati Nagar area here when the incident occurred.

“I had gone to meet a neurologist for treatment of my grandson. The protesters attacked the vehicle in which my son and his family were travelling. I was in another vehicle.” Mr. Sharma told The Hindu. Police managed to rescue them.

Mr. Sharma was Deputy Chief Minister under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Health Minister under Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (SAYSS) convener Leela Karan Sharma has called for civil disobedience against the State government. It asked the people not to pay taxes collected by the government.

Ten people have died and more than 1,000, including a large number of police personnel, have been injured in the ongoing agitation, which entered the 52nd day on Thursday.

Economic losses

Economic losses are estimated to have crossed Rs.3500 crore.

The Samiti has constituted a group to hold talks with a four-member panel formed by the Governor to resolve the issue. But it has stuck to its stand that the agitation will continue till the land is restored to the Shrine Board.

Restore land, peace will return: BJP

Special Correspondent writes from New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said a peace formula on the Amarnath issue could be spelt out in just four words: Restore land, restore normalcy.

Party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy questioned the motives of the Centre, which, he said, allowed the Jammu agitation to continue for more than 50 days. Even now the government refused to say what solution it had in mind and what it proposed to do, the BJP said.

The agitation is for restoration of forest land allotted to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.

On the Centre’s affidavit filed before the Supreme Court seeking to continue the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India, another BJP spokesman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said some persons had, perhaps, deliberately not brought out all relevant facts before the Special Tribunal, set up under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Someone had deliberately tried to soften the case leading to the tribunal order that no case was made out for continuing the ban on the outfit.

But, the BJP pointed out, just a few weeks later the Centre in its affidavit in the court said there were 349 cases registered against SIMI, mostly related to suspected involvement in terrorist attacks, including the recent blasts in Ahmedabad.

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