Warn of mass movement if Centre fails to ‘redesign’ relief
The Valley traders today threatened to launch a mass movement if the Centre did not announce a separate package for the victims of last year’s September floods.
“We will launch a mass movement if New Delhi fails to redesign the package in accordance with ground requirements…only Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for the so-called rehabilitation of traders even as floods destroyed Kashmir economy to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore. Over 50,000 shops were destroyed in floods,” Mohammad Yasin Khan, chairman Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) told reporters here.
Khan was pointing to the “discrimination” with the flood victims in the recently announced Rs 80,000-crore package for the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said the KEA would write to the Centre and take on board people, especially youth from the erstwhile Doda district and the Ladakh region, before announcing the future strategy.
Khan termed the package a “conspiracy aimed at trifurcation of the state” and “divide people on communal lines”.
“Mere Rs 6,500 crore is being given to Kashmir whereas Rs 13,000 crore and Rs 11,000 crore have been given to Ladakh and Jammu respectively. New Delhi wants development on communal lines. The Muslim majority areas are being given peanuts…there is no mention of package for the Muslim dominated areas, like erstwhile Doda district, Poonch and Rajouri,” he said.
Asserting that the KEA was not against any region of religion, Kahn said: “We have a history of living in harmony with Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh brothers. We want to uphold the same love and amity. But our point is that the package has been designed in such a way that it aims at eroding the secular fabric of the state and end up in trifurcation.”
“By joining hands with the communal forces and hailing the package, the PDP-led state government has helped the rightwing forces in taking a step forward towards the trifurcation of the state. The power hungry PDP owes an explanation,” he added.
