Neighbour offers to gift land parcel after journalist's family loses home in Jammu demolition drive
Jammu (PTI): A day after the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) demolished a house belonging to the father of a journalist during an anti-encroachment drive, a Hindu neighbour on Friday offered to gift a piece of land to the affected family for rebuilding their home.
The demolition exercise in Jammu city has sparked a political controversy, with leaders from across the spectrum visiting the demolition site, expressing sympathy with the affected families, and accusing the authorities of "selective action".
Kuldeep Kumar, accompanied by his daughter Tanya, offered a five-marla plot to the family of the journalist in Jammu's Transport Nagar area.
"I am gifting five marlas of land through my daughter to the family so that my brother can rebuild his house," Kumar told reporters, adding that he would also assist in the construction.
The video of his gift deed to affected family went viral on social media, drawing much praise.
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, who visited the area and met affected families, termed the demolition "selective" and assured full support to the residents.
"I was pained to see this. Our Prime Minister believes in giving houses to the poor, not demolishing them. We will ensure all help," he said, calling Kuldeep Kumar's gesture a symbol of Jammu and Kashmir’s harmony.
Raina blamed the elected government for the action, saying, "The Lieutenant Governor has not used the bulldozer. I spoke to him and he said no such orders were issued. Where did the order come from? I won’t politicise it."
The journalist said the demolished structure belonged to his father, and the family had lived there for 40 years. "No notice was served. It was selective targeting. Where were the authorities all this time?" he questioned.
An anti-encroachment drive was carried out on Thursday by the JDA, during which bulldozers demolished illegal structures in the Transport Nagar area, amid heavy police presence.
However, residents claimed they had been living in the area for the past four decades and were evicted without prior notice.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress working president Raman Bhalla, who visited the spot, condemned the JDA’s action and demanded accountability.
"Such things should not happen. Due legal process must be followed, and people must be heard. This is an atrocity," he said.
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegation led by senior leader Varinder Singh Sonu visited the scene, also terming the exercise a "selective demolition".
"Was only this three-marla house an encroachment? What about big land grabbers? This is shameful," Sonu said.
Saying Chief Minister Omar Abdullah exercises direct control over the JDA as the housing minister, Sonu said the National Conference (NC) government has put salt on the wounds of people, who expected the elected government to heal their scars.
He questioned why action was limited to small landholders. "If encroachments must be removed, remove them from everywhere, including those by the most influential people. You call a three-marla owner a land grabber, but what about palatial houses on hundreds of kanals?" he questioned.
According to the JDA, the demolition drive is part of ongoing efforts to clear encroachments from its land across Jammu.
The Jammu and Kashmir government recently said in the assembly that over 16,000 kanals of JDA land is under encroachment in Jammu.
"The total JDA land under encroachment is 16,212 kanals and two marlas. In respect of Jammu Municipal Corporation, eight kanals and 16 marlas of land at Chatha are under encroachment," read the written reply by the chief minister in the assembly.
Some portion of land was transferred to the JDA along with pre-existing encroachments, it added.
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How can TN get funds if state always confronts Centre, asks AIADMK chief Palaniswami
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Thanjavur (PTI): AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami lashed out at the DMK government over fund flow to the state and remarked how it could be possible for the state to get funds when it intentionally confronted the central government.
Addressing a joint poll campaign with AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran, a constituent of the AIADMK-led NDA in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami on Saturday said political parties could have differences or criticise each other during elections but after the polls, the elected government should serve the people who voted them to power.
"How can TN get funds if the state government intentionally criticises the BJP? The DMK could not get funds when it shared power with the Congress at the Centre. Now it criticises the BJP, after failing to maintain harmonious ties with the Centre," the former chief minister said.
The DMK government could have obtained the funds required for the people had it maintained a cordial relationship with the Centre, he said.
But during the last five years of its rule, it had only denied the people the benefits they deserved, the AIADMK general secretary alleged.
"During the then Congress-led UPA regime, a DMK minister involved in the 2 G spectrum scam was jailed and another person who is now criticising me has also been in Tihar jail. She has no qualification to criticise me," he said and reminded that the 2 G spectrum case was still pending.
"The DMK is synonymous with scams. DMK is corruption and corruption is DMK, both are inseparable," Palaniswami alleged.
He flayed the DMK's alleged double standards on protecting the rights and interests of Tamil Nadu as it took up a joint poll campaign with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who had stated that Karnataka would go ahead with the balancing reservoir project at Mekedatu.
Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project as it would affect the agriculture prospects in the state.
Dhinakaran, who addressed from atop the campaign vehicle, flanked by Palaniswami, said like "brothers", the two were garnering votes for the NDA candidates' victory.
He appealed to the people to oust the "evil DMK".
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