Headlines
Shiv Sena demands 'ghar wapsi' of Kashmiri Pandits
Mumbai, April 14
The Shiv Sena has demanded
proper and honourable rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits
of Jammu and Kashmir who were forced to flee their home-state over 25
years ago.
Jammu and Kashmir now has a stable government of the
BJP and the PDP, and a strong administration led by Narendra Modi at the
centre. Since Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's government has
been formed with the BJP support, he must take a decision on 'ghar
wapsi' of displaced Kashmiri Pandits," it urged in an edit in Saamana on
Tuesday.
The Shiv Sena said the decisions by Sayeed to release
extremists and speak about their rehabilitation have raised doubts about
what exactly he proposes to do to ensure the return of Kashmiri Pandits
to their homeland.
"Sayeed has said developing separate areas
for Kashmiri Pandits...does this mean creating a slum or slum
development project for the 'sons of the soil'? Even this proposal has
been opposed by the separatists," the party pointed out.
Referring
to the controversy over the party's (Shiv Sena) demand to take away the
voting rights of the Muslim community, it asked how many Kashmiri
Pandits managed to vote in the last election in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Many
people are crying themselves hoarse over the voting rights of the
Muslims, but no 'Owaisi' (Asaduddin Owaisi) or other secularists ever
raised the same question (of voting rights) for Kashmiri Pandits. To
ensure the victory of candidates on religious lines or Pakistan
supporters in Jammu and Kashmir, the voting rights of Kashmiri Pandits
have been crushed," the party alleged.
The fact that not a single
Hindu legislator was elected in the last election is an ominous sign in
this direction, as Kashmiri Pandits have been uprooted from their own
homes and outsiders have usurped them, it added.
Lauding a
suggestion by Bollywood actor Anupam Kher to set up the first 'Smart
City' for Kashmiri Pandits in their home state, the party said these
original 'owners' of Jammu and Kashmir, now reduced to nomadic beggars,
must get their voting rights restored.
"People are concerned
about the voting rights of Muslims, but in this country of Hindus,
nobody is bothered about the same for Hindus of Jammu and Kashmir or
Assam. India is also their motherland," it urged.