More Kashmiri youths joining militancy now than before: Omar Abdullah
Kolkata, July 28 : Alleging that more youths from Jammu and Kashmir have been joining militancy in recent years, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday regretted that "not enough attention" was paid to the state during the recent no-confidence motion in Parliament.
"In my tenure (as Chief Minister, 2009-2015) there were years when number of people who joined militancy was in twenties, while last year, it was 200 plus," AAbdullah said at the Think Federal Conclave here.
Slamming the BJP-ruled centre for its claim on the number terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the statistics was taken in isolation and not compared with the number of youths joining the militancy.
Coming down heavily on the BJP-PDP coalition that ruled the troubled northern state from 2015 till last month, Abdullah said militancy was "reborn" in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 when the alliance was formed.
Refering to the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition in the Lok Sabha against the Narendra Modi government at the centre, he said: "Not enough attention was paid to Jammu and Kashmir' during the debate.
On centre-state relations, Abdullah said states have "little flexibility" to actually decide their own priorities in terms of spending funds from central schemes as these are coming in a "completely tied down" fashion.
To buttress his point, he refered to the recent development package of Rs 80,000 crore sanctioned for Jammu & Kashmir, and said the executing agency was decided by the centre.
"When you want to strengthen federalism, you need to strengthen the hands of elected representatives to make their own decisions," he said.
He also urged the removal of Indus Waters Treaty, saying it has denied Kashmiris the right to use their own water "without even consulting".
"Please, remove the Indus Water Treaty, let me hold and store water in my rivers the way I like. Let me build dams that allow me to generate electricity and I would not need single penny from the centre," he said.
He said there are "distinct differences" between the BJP or the NDA that his party had dealt with and the present leadership of the saffron party.
Taking a dig at the present leadership of the BJP, Abdullah said: "I have less experience dealing with the current leadership of the BJP. Our understanding and relationship with the NDA was with Atal Bihari Vajpayee's BJP. Most people accept it was a different BJP from the one we see today."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Tirupati Laddu controversy an 'attack' on Hindu sentiments: Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati
Patna, Sep 24: Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, on Tuesday termed the Tirupati Laddu Prasadam controversy an "attack" on Hindu sentiments and demanded strict action against all those involved.
The shankaracharya was in Patna as part of his nationwide 'Gau Raksha Yatra'.
Talking to PTI Video here, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said, "The incident is an attack on Hindu sentiments….it’s an attack on the faith of crores of Hindus. It’s a part of organised crime. It is a big betrayal done to Hindu community…this must be probed thoroughly and strict action should be taken against all those involved in this."
"It’s not appropriate to call it a controversy… it is more than that. One Mangal Pandey refused to open the greased cartridges from mouth during the 1857 revolt, it created a revolution in the country. But today it was put in the mouths of crores of Indians….it's not a small thing. Investigation into the matter should not be delayed. We Hindus just cannot forget this incident", said Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
While expressing concern over cow slaughter in the country, he demanded a law to check cow slaughter.
"We want a countrywide ban on slaughter of cows and also demand a stringent law to check it...It's quite disturbing that the export of beef is increasing day by day in the country. The Central government must take proactive steps in this regard. On one side Prime Minister Narendra Modi plays with cows and feeds peacocks at his official residence and on the other side the export of beef is increasing in the country…," he said.
"We don't have much expectations from politicians on this front", he said, adding they can't think for the betterment of Hindus.
"All politicians take an oath to remain secular when they become part of a political system... We have decided to organise all Hindus to check clow slaughter in the country...," he said.
On the question of opposition parties' demand for conducting caste-based census in the country, he said, "There is nothing wrong in it…The matter should not be politicised. The caste-based census must be conducted so that the government can take steps for the betterment of people belonging to socially weaker sections of the society.
When asked about the controversy over the Centre's move to amend the Waqf Act, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said, "Such properties are meant for the welfare of humanity….We request them (custodian of Waqf properties) to provide us Waqf land and we will convert them into cow grass fields. It will be a great service to humanity."
