Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Friday said that the revival of Village Defence Committees brings back the “haunting memories” of early 1990’s and simultaneously deflates the tall claims of the government of India about the region witnessing peace.
Flaying the reconstitution of VDCs, the Party Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that the government’s words don’t match its actions. “Not so long ago, the Government was saying everything is hunky dory in J&K. The words and actions of the government don’t match. Recently the government declared that militancy has almost ended in Chenab region. Why are the VDCs reactivated again? The measure puts a big question mark on the claims of the government,” he said.
Arming people without any set mechanism of accountability will lead to anarchy, he said, adding that it will escalate the problem instead of solving or containing it. “Involvement of VDC or for that matter any independent group or agency in law and order erodes the credibility of the administration and makes governance shoddy and murky. The VDCs in Jammu and Kashmir were established in 1995, first in Doda district. Due to the lack of manpower, the need to have VDCs was felt then. But now when the government has enough forces on ground, why are such bodies needed? Is the situation as bad as the 90’s? Has the government backtracked from its own claims?”
“If the situation is bad, then what are the new forms of threats to the security situation, peace and tranquillity that are emerging post 2019? Government must come clean on all this,” he added.
These committees have faced accusations of gross abuses in J&K in the recent past, Imran said adding, “Reportedly J&K Police has filed around 200 cases against erstwhile VDC members. Their role is shadowed by their involvement in rampant human rights abuses and other anti-social activities.” He said that the move, far from ushering peace in the hilly regions of Jammu, will prove counterproductive.
