After raising their expectations in support of passage of Kashmiri Hindu Shrines Bill, pending since 2009, Omar Abdullah-led alliance Government on Tuesday ditched the Kashmiri pandit community by once again dumping the Bill and referring it to the joint select committee of the State legislature.
The ‘shrewd’ move, however, invited wrath of Peoples Democratic Party, lone CPI(M) MlA MY Tarigami and independent MlA Hakim Mohd Yasin. Alleging that the Treasury Benches violated the rules of procedure, they all staged walkout from the House soon after the Speaker informed the legislators that he is sending the Bill to the joint select committee of the State legislature for wider consultations and consensus building.
“The Government had the option of either withdrawing the motion or pressing for division of votes but they chose to refer it to the joint select committee”, MY Tarigami,fuming with anger, told reporters outside the Assembly Earlier, legislators belonging to the BJP and Panthers party had also opposed the Bill in its present form claiming that the title of the Bill Kashmiri Hindu Shrines Bill was ‘divisive’ and not acceptable to them.
“The State Government is trying to create a wedge among the Hindus by referring to the shrines as Kashmiri Hindu shrines. We will not tolerate this deliberate move, the legislators recorded their dissent on the floor of the house. Panthers Party MlA Harsh Dev Singh had proposed an amendment to exclude temples and shrine managed by J&K Dharmarth Trust Council, Ramakrishana Mission, Baba Jamuna Dass Rani Mandir Bairagi Trust and some other organisations, from the Bill.
“We are not opposed to inclusion of shrines left abandoned after migration of KPs but not forcible Government takeover of temples managed by such organisations, which had run them even during the height of militancy and performed religious duties,” he said. Harsh Dev also said the word Kashmiri Hindus is divisive word and it should be replaced with just Hindus. MlAs of the Jammu division supported these amendments.
Referring to the objective of the Bill the legislators claimed as per the spirit of the Bill only those shrines which were either abandoned, encroached upon or were not maintained for variety of reasons would be brought under the purview of the shrine Bill not those which were smoothly managed by the different socio-religious bodies including Dharmarth Trust.
The PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti claimed that the alliance Government has bull dozed the crucial Bill by sending it to the joint select committee. She accused the NC- Congress Government of playing ‘dirty politics’ over the emotive issue often linked with the safe return of Kashmiri pandits to the Kashmir valley.