More power to SHRC, rejects politicking on HR
Jammu,February 26 – The Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has said that his Government will not tolerate at any cost killing of innocent persons whoever the killers might be, adding that the if the situation continues to improve the way it has been improving, the coalition Government would work towards withdrawal of laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
‘Those responsible for killing of innocent people will be handed down exemplary punishment”, Chief Minister said, while replying to a discussion on adjournment motion moved by NC and PDP on the Bomai firing incident in which two youths were killed on February 21 this month.
The Chief Minister said the State Government has made a promising beginning by bringing CRPF on second rung and J&K Police on first rung in
The Chief Minister said he believed in doing his job silently and as soon as he heard about the Bomai incident, he ordered a time-bound enquiry, without taking any time, from Mendhar where he was on a three-day tour of the two border districts. He said that it is for the first time that a time-bound enquiry has been ordered in such kind of incident to fix responsibility, adding that many enquiries ordered in the past are either lingering or gathering dust. “I don’t require any such enquiries which take years to submit report by which time people forget the incident”, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the facts of the report about Bomai incident would be made public as soon as the Inquiry Officer submits report. He said that stern action would be taken against those found guilty so that it is known to all that the Government does not tolerate such incidents.
Omar Abdullah said the source on whose information the action in Bomai was taken is in the custody of the police and the facts are being collected, adding that it was unfortunate that the Standing Operating Procedure where under Police has to accompany the security forces following the receipt of actionable information has not been followed in Bomai incident. He said that he has taken up this issue with the Union Home Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram as well as the Corps Commander.
Rejecting the attempt to politicise the issues of human rights, the Chief Minister said when such incidents took place in the last six years, those sitting on the Opposition benches now were in power, but raised these issues neither in the House nor in the Unified Command, nor talked about the issue of demilitarization. ‘They were keeping mum and enjoying power”, he said, adding that he wanted to know from PDP that how many orchards had been vacated by the security forces during their rule in the State when they were trumpeting relocation of troops.
Giving details of the rights violations that took place during the PDP rule, the Chief Minister said that between 2003 and 2005, as many as 240 civilians were killed in cross firing incidents while as 24 people were killed in custody, but those who are now pointing fingers towards one-month-old Government, did not even make a passing reference about these unfortunate incidents in the Assembly or outside.
Asking PDP to see its past record before making hue and cry, Abdullah said that his Government was committed to strengthening the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) which was made powerless by the then PDP Government. He made pointed reference to the killing of an Imam and his son while going to prayers and killing of five schoolchildren while playing cricket during their rule, adding nothing has been done to fix responsibility in these and many other such cases.
Abdullah quoted the cause given by the then Chairman of the SHRC, Justice A. M. Mir, for his resignation, during PDP’s rule, wherein he stated, “Right from the Day 1, I assumed the office, I have been observing that the Government is not serious about the Commission. I all along made strenuous efforts for drawing the attention of the Government to the difficulties of the institution. The position has worsened from day to day. During my tenure, not a single recommendation made by the Commission was implemented. SHRC has not been able to accomplish the object for which it was established. I waited for long in the hope that my efforts might yield some results but in vain”. He said that SHRC had received 1,863 complaints on which no action was taken by the then Government.
Urging Opposition not to take political mileage out of incidents which are not even connected to rights violation, the Chief Minister while referring to the death of an auto rickshaw driver, said that the driver namely Fida Hussain Bhat, S/o Irshad Bhat, R/o Habba Kadal was found dead in Parimpora in his auto and some drugs were found in his possession. He said that from the preliminary investigations, it has been ascertained that the security forces were not at all involved in this case. By connecting the issue with Maisuma and rights violations was unfortunate on the part of the PDP. Inviting the attention of PDP leaders towards their statements in media regarding the auto rickshaw incident, he asked them to be judges of their own conscience.
The Chief Minister said that people voted in large numbers to get rid of the gun culture and live in a peaceful atmosphere. “We have to work jointly for it and come up to the expectations of the people”, he said.
On the allegation of PDP MLA, Nizam-ud-din Bhat that the Chief Minister had been provided wrong information about the destruction of structures in a village near Bandipora, the Chief Minister said that he will instruct the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir to conduct an on-the-spot enquiry and added that if it was found that any wrong information has been fed to him, he would take action against the guilty persons.
Leave Your Comments