"An issue was made of a non-issue," a source familiar with the developments said. Sayeed did try to scotch the speculation saying on the floor of the House that there was no plan to make a separate township for rehabilitation of the Pandits. He also said he had conveyed to Singh that he was opposed to the idea of a separate cluster for the pandits.
It may have been a mountain out of a mole hill. There has been much furore over a "composite township" for Kashmiri Pandits, which has brought the BJP under attack from mainstream political parties in the state assembly and separatists on the streets, but did the central government have any such plan?
The controversy was sparked off after home minister Rajnath Singh's meeting with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the Capital last week. Singh had reminded Mufti of providing land for rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits who have been given jobs under the Prime Minister's relief scheme, according to reliable sources. Under the scheme, which would cover 6,000 migrants, 2100 families were already in the state.
Keeping in mind that more migrants would land up for jobs in the valley, Singh proposed that 50 acres be provided for them, sources said.
This, they said, was interpreted as a proposal to make a separate township for Kashmiri pandits, sparking off a controversy and a political row. While the BJP has promised rehabilitation for the migrants, the government was unlikely to take any decision of setting up a township for Kashmiri Pandits without evolving a consensus, sources said. A township for all the migrants would require much more than 50 acres, they said.
"An issue was made of a non-issue," a source familiar with the developments said. Sayeed did try to scotch the speculation saying on the floor of the House that there was no plan to make a separate township for rehabilitation of the Pandits. He also said he had conveyed to Singh that he was opposed to the idea of a separate cluster for the pandits.
Mainstream parties-- National Conference and Congress-- lashed at the PDP-BJP government saying it was playing politics. Separatist leader Yasin Malik gave a call for a bandh on Saturday saying any such move for an exclusive township would be resisted "tooth and nail".
Meanwhile, amidst the controversy, one group of Kashmiri Pandits has demanded a separate and secure "Smart City" in the valley for the community. The hopes of the pandits have soared ever since the BJP government came to power as they feel that the saffron party was their best bet, going by the commitments made to them in the run-up to the elections. The Modi government is trying to send the message that it was keeping its word.
On Sunday, veteran actor Anupam Kher led the demand from a group of Kashmiri pundits to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a new Smart City for pundits. "It is more important today that the pandits feel secure when they return to the valley and this is possible only when they live together as a cohesive unit in one township," Kher, who himself is a Kashmiri Pandit, said at a press conference organised by "Roots in Kashmir".
However, not all Kashmiri Pandits may agree.
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