Dejected with the poor response of the successive State and Centre Governments towards granting them citizenship/voting rights in the State Assembly members of the West Pakistan Refugee Action Committee on Friday spelt out their frustration in clear words before the Centre Government’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma.
After meeting Sharma here at Jammu convention centre chairman of the West Pakistan Refugee Action committee labha Ram Gandhi told reporters, “Today I made it clear to the special representative of the Union Government if you people cannot grant us citizenship of the State of Jammu & Kashmir we are ready to relocate to any other place in India".
Gandhi said, "We have been projecting our demand in front of every one for over 70 years now but we are still deprived of our citizenship rights".
Everyone is talking about Kashmir but we are living here for last 70 years and still deprived of our basic rights.
According to official sources, an estimated 19,960 families of West Pakistan Refugees with a population of around 80,000 to 85,000 are registered with the Revenue authorities in J&K.
The West Pakistani Refugee leader said, "We told special representative "India is a big country take us anywhere you want to we are ready to go. We also want to live with dignity. We are proud citizens of India not J&K. They have not accepted us till date".
Our children have grown over age and they have been denied caste certificates by the Revenue authorities in J&K. They cannot get entry in the paramilitary/Defence forces in the absence of caste certificate. Gandhi also made a passionate appeal to the Prime Minister for expediting compensation package and granting them the voting rights failing which disgruntled youth would be forced to take the same route adopted by the Kashmiri youth.