Jagti (Jammu): JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday asked the J&K Government to send an all-party team of MLAs to the Kashmiri migrant camps to assess their living conditions and recommend urgent measures to improve their situation.
Karra said this after interacting with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community on the eve of the holy festival of Shivratri during his visit to the Jagti migrant camp at Nagrota, Jammu.
He said enough politics had taken place over the plight and sufferings of the displaced Kashmiri community and it was time to rise above vote-bank politics and improve the condition of people suffering on multiple fronts.
He said that while fresh initiatives should be taken and continued for their respectful, safe and dignified return, for which the Congress has suggested a local-level dialogue through elected MLAs from all parties, simultaneous urgent and effective steps must be taken to improve living conditions and rehabilitation measures in migrant camps and to resolve their genuine issues. The best way, he said, is to send an all-party MLAs’ team to the camps to study their conditions and recommend immediate measures.
Karra said the migrant community had invited him to express gratitude for forcefully raising their issues during the ongoing Budget session of the J&K Assembly.
Accompanied by senior party leaders, including Working President Raman Bhalla, former minister Yogesh Sawhney, Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, former MLA A.R. Rather, Migrant Cell Chairman H.L. Pandita, Zaffar Slathi, Shubham Pandit, Sumit Pandit, Ashwani Kumar, Rajnath Dhar and others, Karra visited the camp on the eve of Shivratri to share greetings with the community.
Karra said there was an age-old tradition in Kashmir of Hindus and Muslims celebrating Shivratri and other festivals together, which every right-thinking Kashmiri misses today and looks forward to the day when the migrant community returns to its homeland with dignity, honour, safety and security.
He said he and a majority of Kashmiri Muslims feel pain over the migration of Hindus from Kashmir and expressed regret that they could not do anything to prevent it due to the circumstances prevailing at that time.
He also stated that nothing substantial was done for the migrant community except during the UPA government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, and stressed the need for a collective approach towards their welfare.
Karra also deputed a former minister and DCC President, Jammu Urban, to visit the Jagti migrant camp along with a team to study their problems and submit a report to the party.
Working President Raman Bhalla, in his address, referred to the sufferings and day-to-day problems faced by the community and alleged that the ruling party at the Centre used them as a vote bank while neglecting them over the years.
He appreciated the presentation and concern shown by PCC President Tariq Hameed Karra in the Assembly and the suggestions put forth by him to help the community, rising above party politics. He said the Congress always stands with them as they are like family members and noted that the party’s top leadership, including Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, belonged to the community.
Former minister Yogesh Sawhney, former MLA A.R. Rather, H.L. Pandita and several other community leaders also expressed their views and felicitated Karra for his concern for the migrant community.
