Srinagar, Apr 1: Cutting across party lines, political parties in Kashmir Wednesday slammed Centre’s move to bring in new domicile laws to Jammu and Kashmir.
Reactions of these parties came in the wake of a gazette notification announcing reservation up to Group-4 jobs for domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir. The new clause for domicile category states that a person has to stay in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for a period of 15 years. Children of all-India services personnel who have served there for 10 years should also be deemed to be the domicile of the newly formed Union Territory for the purpose of appointment to any post carrying a pay scale of not more than Level-4.
National Conference
National Conference leader and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said that the Home Ministry’s notification was like adding insult to the injuries of the people as the new law lacked all the protections that the people of the state had been promised.
He also raised questions over the timing of the notification, saying the government at this difficult should focus on fighting against Covid-19. Omar, who was released from house arrest after 8 months, even termed the new law as hollow.
“Talk about suspect timing. At a time when all our efforts and attention should be focused on the Covid-19 outbreak the government slips in a new domicile law for J&K. Insult is heaped on injury when we see the law offers none of the protections that had been promised,” he said.
“You can imagine how hollow the domicile law is from the fact that even the new party created with Delhi’s blessings, whose leaders were lobbying in Delhi for this law, have been forced to criticize the domicile law,” he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee
Terming the Centre’s order defining domicile law for Jammu and Kashmir against the interests of people of the erstwhile state, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Vice President and former MLC G N Monga said when the entire world has been engulfed by cornavirus pandemic, the BJP government rubbed further salt into the wounds of people of J&K.
In a statement he said it shows the true colours of the BJP. “The order has been deliberately issued at a time when the entire world, country as well as Jammu and Kashmir is facing a dreadful threat due to the outbreak of the deadly cornavirus resulting in a complete lockdown.”
“Instead of focusing on fighting against the deadly disease, the BJP government at the Center issued domicile law to further humiliate and subjugate people of J&K. The order is against the wishes and interests of people of J&K, especially its youth. The order contains no word related the protection of land and jobs and has been issued just for the sake of issuance,” Monga said.
Asking the government of India to immediately roll back the order, the Congress leader said, “The priority of the government should be to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country as well as in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Peoples Democratic Party
Iltija Mufti, daughter of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said that J&K’s new domicile law is part of a diabolical demographic project that began on 5th August with Article 370 abrogation.
“J&K’s new domicile law is part of a diabolical demographic project that began on 5th August with Article 370 abrogation. Imposing it in times of a global pandemic reveals a callous and paranoid mindset willfully violating consent to ensure subjugation,” she said.
She said,” It’s obvious that even after illegally revoking J&Ks special status & dismembering it amidst tall claims of ‘integration’ GOIs sense of insecurity continues unabated. An atmosphere of fear prevails where people are scrambling to save their lives. Here we are fighting a battle between life & death but even that doesn’t deter them from trampling all over our dignity.”
She further said, “They are in a maddening rush to appropriate our land & resources. Wonder why they don’t show the same sense of urgency to save lives of thousands of Kashmiris jailed in & outside J&K?”
Apni Party
Recently floated J&K Apni Part president Altaf Bukhari said, “This order in its entirety is a casual attempt, cosmetic in nature, to hoodwink the people of J&K who genuinely believed that post October 31, 2019, their rights and privileges in the matter of employment and other rights would remain as it had been.”
He termed it “most unfortunate”.
Bukhari said the order was totally unacceptable to his party. “In the matter of employment—non-gazetted, gazetted posts in the service and admissions to professional colleges, a tangible legal and constitutional mechanism was supposed to be put in place to safeguard and protect these privileges of the people of J&K, who had been the permanent residents. The new gazette notification regarding domicile rule is not immune to any judicial review.”
There were sections of the order that were antithesis to what was promised by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the floor of Parliament of “a better domicile law for the residents of J&K”, he noted and demanded that it should be put in abeyance.
Peoples Conference
The Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone, described the presidential order “short of expectations even for those who expected some relief some reconciliation process”.
A PC spokesman said, “The new definition of ‘domicile’ is humiliating and insulting. It adds insult to injury. Doing away with district and divisional recruitment is an affront to the concept of affirmative action. We had no expectations but this particular order has made the disappointment even more intense. The government of the day has embarked on an erroneous path and seems to be in no mood to rectify wrongs and instead is content to be deluded in the world of ‘we know the best’ for J&K and its people.”(KINS)
