Establishing Central University in Jammu is the victory of Jammuites : BJP

Jammu, September 26 (Vijay Kumar) – Various political leaders have welcomed the decision of the Union Minister for Human Resources,Kapil Sibal,to set up two central universities in Jammu and Kashmir.The state BJP State President Ashok Khajuria on Saturday said that with the HRD ministry’s final node to establish Central University in Jammu , the people of Jammu have registered one more victory and made it clear that the Kashmiri leaders can not take them for granted any more.

The state BJP today celebrated the opening of Central University in Jammu with party leaders dancing to the drum beats and distributing sweets at party headquarters.While addressing the party activists on this occasion Khajuria  said the real credit for getting Central University goes to the Central University Andolan Samiti (CUAS) which spearheaded the movement on the issue after bringing all the social, political and student organizations under its umbrella. The Samiti’s struggle forced the Union government to fulfil the commitment of setting up of a Central University in Jammu and not to tinker with the original decision.

He said the BJP is not against establishment of Central University in Kashmir valley but it would like to ask the present and previous governments in the state as what role they had played for seeking establishments of important institutions for Jammu when they were set up in the valley. Institutions like Regional Engineering College, Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Bones & Joints Hospital were sanctioned for Kashmir and even International standard was accorded to Srinagar Airport, but none of the ministers /legislators hailing from the soil of Jammu in the governments then pleaded for setting up of such institutions in Jammu to remove the regional imbalance, Khajuria alleged.

 He also referred to investments by central government on various projects in Kashmir including water bodies while ignoring Jammu. Have the leaders in the government ever tried to remove such discriminations with Jammu, Khajuria asked ? If Jammu has now various institutions or projects, it is because of the struggle launched by the people of Jammu from time to time. He also regretted the role of Jammu ministers and legislators of Congress/NC for acting as sycophant to the ruling dispensations, which have always been Kashmir-centric. The BJP Chief appealed the people of Jammu to display the same unity which they had shown during the Darbar Move agitation, the Amarnath land row and the present one, to ensure justice and end of discrimination with Jammu.

Meanwhile Vice Chairman Panthers Party,Harsh Dev Singh,today said that the central Government has taken the right steps in defusing regional tension and conflict that had started destabilising peace in the state. Harsh Dev said that by clearing two central universities the Government has spared people of the state from odds and violence which they witnessed during the Amarnath land row last year.He said it seems that for the first time the state and the central Governments have taken cognisance of the regional aspirations.He said that hitherto people belonging to the Jammu region had been given a raw deal in every sphere of Government activity.He hoped that in future too the Government will not do anything that will hurt regional aspirations of the people of Jammu

On the Other hand Prof. Bhim Singh, Chairman of Panthers Party accused Central and the Congress-NC leadership in Jammu and Kashmir for playing fraud with the people of Jammu province as they have been doing for the past six decades.He equated HRD Minister’s declaration of two Central Universities in J&K as synonymous to robbing Peter and paying Paul.

However, the Centre’s trick may cost them heavily by this declaration as this literally amounts to accepting the existence of two states within a state. With the creation of two Central Universities in Jammu and in Srinagar, the Centre has accepted the existence of two political and geographical entities in the State of Jammu and Kashmir as they existed before the Treaty of Aitsar in 1846.

Congress and National Conference leaders appr eciated the role the PCC Chief.Saif-ud-Din Soz,and the Chif Minister,Omar Abdullah played in securing two central universities for the state.The party leaders said that "had not soz and Omar pleaded the case effect ively with Sibal and Manmohan Singh,"the state would have lost the right to have even one central university."The party leaders wanted the state Government to identify land for the two projects so that whatever time had been wasted was made up by taking in hand the construction work of the two projects.

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