Tarun Vijay had pointed out that tributes to former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam “would remain incomplete without having jawans settled in J&K”, adding it was Dr Kalam’s “dream to see J&K fully developed.
BJP Parliamentarian Tarun Vijay’s campaign aimed at seeking settlement rights for soldiers who have served in Jammu and Kashmir or to the families of those personnel who died during counter-insurgency operations has set alarm bells ringing in the restive state.
Separatists are on the forefront in opposing the proposal with separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference threatening massive agitation. The National Conference described Vijay as an “irrelevant person,” whose only aim is to seek attention of his party through the “preposterous” proposal.
However, BJP spokesman in Kashmir Khalid Jehangir described the proposal as a move in right direction.
The National Conference while rejecting Vijay’s proposal said, “He doesn’t have a constituency. He has no locus standi in Kashmir and he shouldn’t talk about J&K,” National Conference spokesman Juniad Azim Mattu said.
Pro-independence
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik said, “Any talk about settlement of retired Army men and their families in J&K is actually a joint conspiracy of Indian rulers and their Kashmiri stooges who want to strengthen illegal occupation of India in J&K.”
Vijay had pointed out that tributes to former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam “would remain incomplete without having jawans settled in J&K”, adding it was Dr Kalam’s “dream to see J&K fully developed.
“Earlier, Hurriyat Conference moderate faction chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, rejected the proposal and threatened mass scale protests.
“Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally accepted disputed territory and decision for its future is still pending. So settling or allotting land to any Army personnel or citizen of India will be a clear violation of international rules which has no constitutional or moral justification,” Mirwaiz said.
