The week-long visit of 36 Union ministers to Jammu and Kashmir beginning from Saturday has generated little or no excitement in the union territory. The ministers will arrive in small batches and visit 52 different locations.
This is first visit of Central ministers to Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370 and division of the former state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on August 5, 2019.
The ministers will meet department heads of Jammu and Kashmir government for a first-hand understanding of what needs to be done for development of the union territory.
BJP J&K spokesman Arun Gupta told THE WEEK that the ministers will be briefed by the government departments and informed about the type of assistance needed for development of the union territory.
“At some places, the requirement is for hospitals, while in others there are requirements for school and something else,” Gupta said. “That is why they would meet heads of different government departments to understand what is needed and where.”
He said the ministers are coming with an open mind.
The proposed visit, however, has failed to generate any excitement in Jammu and Kashmir.
President of Jammu-based Panthers Party Harsh Dev Singh said the visit was a futile exercise. “It has been six months since Article 370 was abrogated what has been done since then,’’ he asked. “The BJP only knows to blow trumpets but does nothing,” he added.
Forget development, the party has even snatched the fundamental rights of people, he said. “Internet is still blocked and people have been held in detention,’’ Singh added.
He said at a time when unemployment is on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir and people are not being paid their salaries, the J&K government is organising a visit of Central ministers.
Singh pointed out that nearly six months after the abrogation of Article 370, there is still no clarity on the domicile rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Panther Party members took out a rally in Jammu and tonsured their heads in protest against the BJP decision to demote J&K to a union territory.
Senior NC leader and MP Akbar Lone said the visit is a futile exercise and added that it won't benefit anyone. “They are cheating people,’’ Lone said. “ What will this visit achieve when three former chief ministers are still in detention.”
The Congress will hold an important meeting under Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the visit of the Union ministers.
“They will come to witness the spectacle of destruction they have unleashed on J&K,’’ Azad had told reporters on Thursday in Jammu.
President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) Sheikh Ashiq said they have no information about the proposed visit. “We were not invited when the foreign envoys visited Kashmir,’’ Ashiq claimed.
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He said if KCCI is invited for a meet they will discuss it and then take a call.
The visit is happening at a time when Kashmir is reeling under intense cold wave due to heavy snowfall, difficulties caused to due to heavy load shedding and frequent closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway owing to bad weather.
The lack of excitement is also due to the fact that the Centre has done little to ease the problems of Kashmir like the release of all detainees, end to the internet blockade and revive the Kashmir economy, which according to KCCI, has suffered a loss of Rs 18,000 crore. Besides, five lakh people have lost jobs after the abrogation of Article 370.
However, BJP supporters and politicians and individuals who have not opposed the abrogation of Article 370 believe that the visit would pave the way for reviving the confidence and business activity in Kashmir.
"This visit is important and a chance for us to express what we feel and what needs to be done to assuage the anger in Kashmir,'' said a former legislator.
