Ek Nazar Idher Bhe, Modi Ji: JAMMU

BY: RANBIR MANHAS PUBLISHED ON MARCH 9, 2018

People of Jammu are annoyed with local BJP, which is a part of the incumbent coalition government in the state. Their grouse is that their ministers have fallen flat before PDP just for the sake of power.

“The state government lodges FIR against Army and our ministers remain silent; the government releases 9000 anti-national stone pelters and the BJP ministers and legislators keep mum; on the developmental front also, Jammu is being constantly ignored; there is lack of development in Jammu whereas doors of development for Kashmir have been opened. Even the party workers have been expressing displeasure against their ministers and legislators who according to them are not available to them thereby rendering the organization ineffective and useless in the eyes of the general public.

For finding out the truth behind people’s unrest in Jammu, I decided to stay for a couple of days in Jammu on my way back home from New Delhi. During this period I met a cross-section of common men; politicians; professionals and businessmen of Jammu city to know their opinion about BJP ministers and to my surprise, majority of them were unhappy with them for their failure to raise Jammu’s voice.

“Last month over six hundred teachers from Kashmir were appointed, but the recruitment was denied to youth of Jammu”, complained a politician.

“Recently, some faculty members were appointed in Medical College Jammu and all of them were from Kashmir except a few from Jammu that too from category quota. Why Muslims were recruited from Kashmir? Does Jammu have no Muslims and why only Muslims”, complained a senior faculty member of the same institution?

“There is no development in Jammu and outsiders are settling here to eat our resources”, told a business man. “Even Rohingya bastis have surrounded important installation in the outskirts of Jammu posing danger to the security of the country”, he feared.

“Law and order situation in Jammu is considerably bad. The shopkeepers have illegally occupied the footpaths in front of their shops; the traffic system in Jammu city is worst and there is no proper system of maintaining the cleanliness in the city”, complained a shopkeeper. And, an employee said,” Prices are touching sky making the life unaffordable”, and so on and so forth.

Lastly, I met an old friend who after remaining a minister in the previous government is in opposition now. I was thinking that he would give me more information about the failure of the present government particularly about the ministers belonging to Jammu, but his version surprised me by his startling information on almost all the issues.

“Manhas sahib, please do not quote me, but I have no hesitation in saying that people of Jammu have also learnt some lessons from their counterparts in Kashmir whose tactics of always complaining has become their habit now”, he said. He also said that for most of the aforesaid problems people of Jammu themselves are responsible. “ For instance, people complain that outsiders are settling in Jammu, but ask them who is selling their lands; their concern about setting up colonies around Jammu city is genuine, but is BJP responsible for this; they say that shopkeepers have occupied footpaths, true but are these shopkeepers from outside”, he asked?

About deteriorating traffic situation in Jammu, he said, “Indeed, traffic situation in Jammu was quite grim sometimes ago, but with aggressive and effective drive by Basant Rath, the traffic condition has considerably improved. To whom this credit goes if not to the local ministers”, he questioned. “And as for as the increased prices is concerned there has been a spectacular hike in the salaries of both government as well as private employees”, he opined. He also disclosed that sons and daughters of government employees continue roaming about in their bikes and cars during the day and enjoy lavish food in expansive hotels in the evening. Even then if employees say that prices are soaring, then it is nothing but a cruel joke.

On the issue of FIR and release of the detained stone pelting youth my learned friend opined, “Lodging FIR was a public consumption decision which was revoked by the Honorable Supreme Court and tell me for how many years a government can feed such a large number of detunes? Their release was eminent and they were to be released whichever party was in power”, he said. He however made a sarcastic remark on the attitude of Jammu people when he said that our people criticize BJP ministers on the issue of the stone pelters, but never give credit to them for arresting a large number of Hurriyat leaders by NIA and killing a large number of militants by security forces who, for the first time have been given free hand to restore peace in the Valley.

On low development in Jammu my friend said, “Long flyovers are being built; big Malls and Star Hotels are coming up; Roads in the city are being widened; Railway stations and Aerodromes are being expanded; Universities, medical colleges and AIIMS are being built. Not only in Jammu city road network is being upgraded and health institutions improved in remote areas also. Tell me now please; what more can BJP ministers do for the complaining people of Jammu”? He asked.

As far as recruitment to fill vacancies in different departments is concerned, he again made officers of Jammu accountable. “I was also upset on knowing that only candidates from Kashmir were recruited as teachers, but when I made this complaint to a senior officer of the department he admitted that the government had asked to refer vacancies in Jammu also, but our officers have so far failed to furnish their reports whereas in Kashmir, the compliance was prompt. We too have many vacancies, but these cannot be filled up unless these vacancies are properly referred for interviews”, told my friend. He also asked, “There are eight PSC members: 4 from Kashmir, 1 from Ladakh and 3 from Jammu. If these Jammu based members can’t obtain share of Jammu then who else will do this and can any local minister be held responsible for their inaction”, he asked?

Although the facts forwarded by my friend were quite convincing, I disagreed with him on certain issues. There is no denying that development has been going on at a fast pace in Jammu province, but this is all due to the projects passed and implemented by the Union government; for setting up of universities, medical colleges, AIIMS, IIM, flyovers, bridges and other developmental projects the credit goes to the Central government. As far as coming up of Star hotels, it is the private sector that deserves applaud and not the local ministers. Then why should people of Jammu feel happy with them?

My opinion is that besides bridges, hotels, flyovers, AIIMS like big issues, people have smaller issues also which affect the life of a common man solving which is the responsibility of the local leaders, local legislators and local ministers. And if they fail in this, who else should be blamed than they?

People want doctors in hospitals; they want teachers in schools; they want proper maintenance of lanes and drains; they want their city to be clean; they also want their due share in recruitment, transfers and postings; they also want proper traffic control in place, but the situation on ground is almost otherwise? The Union government wanted abolition of Lakhanpur post, the local BJP ministers declined to oblige claiming that it would affect the local industrialists; the IGP Traffic Basant Rath has been trying to bring the otherwise derailed traffic system back in Jammu, Yudhvir Sethi, one of BJP’s six vice presidents and husband of a party minister has threatened to launch Amarnath like strike against the officer who is doing his duty honestly and sincerely claiming that his drive in the town is badly affecting the shopkeepers and rehriwallas forgetting that the roads are not meant for the shopkeepers alone their customers and other passersby too have an equal right on them. The complaint about postings and recruitments is also not wrong. Transfers and postings are going on, but not through the organization, but through Opposition leaders or touts and that too on payment basis, which people are prepared to prove. And if local officers have failed to prepare the list of vacancies then can the Opposition be blamed for that? Perhaps not!

Being myself a student of politics, I know that workers of all ruling parties expect special treatment from their ministers, which is practically impossible, but when you oblige opposition workers or work against payment, can’t you oblige your own workers who have been working in the party not only for years but for decades? And if the ministers cannot do even this much, then they do not deserve to be in the chair.

Therefore, if BJP has to survive in Jammu, its leaders particularly ministers must maintain close contact with their workers and voters besides creating a grip on the administration instead of opposing the officers of integrity and tranquility. Otherwise the traditional local BJP bastion will fall like the one belonging to CPIM that fell in Tripura after 25 years.

The need of the hour therefore is thrashing of the local BJP leadership and this Modi alone can do; hence ‘Ek nazar idher bhi, Modi ji’