The issue of setting up Sainik Colony in Kashmir sprang up in Jammu & Kashmir legislative Assembly again on Monday and brought Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the war path with her former counterpart Omar Abdullah.
The Chief Minister also gave a stern warning to the media asking it to “behave”.
The issue came up when an Independent legislator Sheikh Rashid waved a copy of a local English daily that had quoted a prominent human rights group as claiming that construction of a colony was underway in old airport area in Srinagar.
Mehbooba described the report as concocted and said the recurrent reports springing up in this regard seem to be the part of a desperate and sustained campaign by certain quarters to destabilise the situation and put Kashmir on fire again.
“It is highly unfortunate that at a time when the tourism activity has started picking up in Kashmir and the slumped economy is slowly rejuvenating, a sustained campaign has been launched by certain quarters to dish out concocted and inflammatory reports to provoke the situation,” the Chief Minister said.
“I want to make it clear that the Army is not constructing any Sainik Colony in Kashmir. They have and may be constructing accommodation at the land already under their use,” she said and added that these constructions are in no way linked to the Sainik Colony as is being projected by certain quarters.
“Constructions have been going on for decades in the areas which have been allotted to the Army and other security forces for their staff and the families and by playing up the pictures of some residential accommodation in the newspapers, which already exist in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir, an attempt is being made to provoke the situation and create trouble, which won’t be allowed,” she said.
Pointing out that the former Chief Minister had led this misinformation campaign by spreading canards on twitter about purported settling of non-state subjects in the Sainik Colonies, she said as the former CM and head of the Opposition, he knows that there is no truth in the establishment of Sainik Colonies as is being projected. “He (the former CM) had himself attended four meetings of the Rajya Sainik Board in which the decisions to locate land for Sainik Colonies for state subject retired soldiers were reiterated. “However, when the matter came up during our Government, it was communicated to the concerned quarters that there is no land available for the purpose,” she maintained.
The Chief Minister also urged the media to play a responsible and responsive role by verifying the veracity of the reports before publishing the same. “Please investigate whatever comes to you especially on such sensitive issues before putting the same in the public domain,” she urged the media and said if there is even an iota of truth in any such move, go ahead and publish it, “but for God sake, please don’t give credence to hearsay.”
“I am not here for luxuries, I am here to work and bring relief to the people, who have suffered immensely because of turmoil, mis-governance, corruption and nepotism,” she said. “I will not permit anybody to play with the lives of the people and disrupt peace and would continue to work for the welfare of the people for as long as I am here.”
Mehbooba’s remarks infuriated leader of Opposition Omar Abdullah who stood up to contradict her remarks.
“I am being dragged into the issue unnecessarily,” Omar said adding that he wont back out from making the government accountable. “My small tweets prick you. Your mood gets spoiled. If I make you accountable by tweeting, I will continue it. I won’t stop and I won’t apologise for it,” Omar said.
Omar said that he has not denied being part of the meetings for setting up of Sainik Colony but had never passed any order like the one he had posted on twitter earlier last month. “If there is any such order issued during my tenure, please bring it forth. If you are here for welfare of the people, I am also here so that people are benefited,” he said. He said that he had raised objections on settling non-state subjects in the sainik colony but when the Government cleared its stand that no non-state subject would be allowed, he has not raised the issue.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the ministry of defence in Srinagar denied reports that construction inside the Old Air Field was connected with setting up sainik colony in Kashmir.
“The land on which construction activity is in progress, is Defence land which is inside the existing Old Air Field Military Station. Presently construction of Married Accommodation Project is under progress inside the Old Air Field Military Station. The new construction is purely meant for the serving Army personnel and being constructed under supervision of Station Headquarters to meet the accommodation requirements of the Army units located in this area. This construction activity has absolutely nothing to do with the Sainik Colonies which is a State subject and Army has no role in it,” Col N Joshi said in a statement.