MLA Kishtwar Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo
Jammu, August 12 (Scoop News)-Former Minister of State for Home and MLA Kishtwar Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, today blamed the opposition parties for trying to extract political mileage out of the prevailing law and order situation in the State. He also condemned those elements which are deliberately and in a planned manner trying to drag his name in the events that led to the violence in Kishtwar town on August 9.
In a press statement issued here today, Mr. Kichloo has said the Government has already ordered a Judicial Inquiry headed by a retired High Court Judge, as well as Inquiry by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, and the truth in the matter will be laid bare. “There are some political parties that are trying to create a situation akin to 2008, but the Government will thwart these events and quickly restore peace and normalcy in the State,” he said, adding that preventive measures have been taken across Jammu division to stop miscreants from exploiting the situation.
Referring to the violence in Kishtwar on August 9, Mr. Kichloo said he issued instructions to the District Administration to exercise maximum restraint so that no loss of life occurs.
Reacting to the accusations made by certain political parties that he was camping in Kishtwar for the last few days, Kichloo said he was in Kishtwar since his paternal uncle Sh. Ghulam Abbas Kichloo, who was ill for quite some time, had passed away on August 4. “We were in mourning and planning to observe a sombre Eid,” he said while castigating those who are hell bent in maligning his clean image as a political leader.
Kichloo challenged all those who are blaming him for the incidents in Kishtwar that he will not only resign as MLA but also shun politics for ever if the allegations against him are proved.
Reacting to the comments made by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in which he had alleged that the violence in Kishtwar was orchestrated by him on August 9, Mr. Kichloo said he doesn’t require anybody’s certificate to prove his secular credentials. “I have the mandate of the people of Kishtwar, who know me and my family for 60 long years. I have won two successive elections and people from both the communities have overwhelmingly voted for me,” he said.
Kichloo said he will be curious to know if Mr. Jaitley and some other members of his party who appear in national media debating the situation in J&K know whether Kishtwar falls in Jammu or Kashmir Division. He termed some of these statements issued by BJP leaders as unfortunate and bereft of facts, which have been issued without having any knowledge of events that existed on ground that day.
Mr. Kichloo justified the Government’s decision not to allow political leaders to enter Kishtwar town as these have the potential to flare up the situation further. “It is not only Arun Jaitley, PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, and Congress President Saiffudin Soz and others have also been stopped from visiting Kishtwar at this juncture. Curfew has been imposed and Army has been called in to restore peace in the district,” he added.
He urged the people to maintain peace and communal harmony in the State which is the hallmark of our culture and ethos.
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