SASS convener Leela Karan Sharma told DNA the agitation in Jammu was a people’s movement and they would not rest until the land is restored to SASB.
SRINAGAR: Hours before the all-party meeting called by prime minister Manmohan Singh got under way in New Delhi, the Shri Amaranth Sangharsh Samiti (SASS) spearheading the agitation in Jammu hardened its stand, saying it would not accept anything less than restoration of the 39.88 hectares of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
Peeved at not being invited for the meeting, SASS convener Leela Karan Sharma told DNA the agitation in Jammu was a people’s movement and they would not rest until the land is restored to SASB.
“I don’t know what the all-party meet will discuss. As far as we are concerned, we will not accept anything less than Amarnath land,” Sharma said.
SASS is a conglomerate of 30 social, religious and political organisations of Jammu that launched the agitation after the land revocation order was issued by the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Congress government in the state last month.
Sharma said the people of Jammu would brave all odds to get the land restored and there was no way going back.
“I fail to understand what solution the PM is hoping to find at the meeting. Nobody is listening to the voices of Jammu. It is only after Kashmir started protests, the Union cabinet felt the tremors and went into a huddle to look for some respite,” he said.
The SASS leader also hit out at the two-member committee comprising defence and home secretaries which held talks with the state administration to try and restore peace in the Valley.
“They only met the officers. Nobody knows what they were told. We are unable to understand their purpose of visit,” he said.
Sharma tried to clear the air vis-à-vis the alleged economic blockade of the Valley. “People in Jammu do not have any ration either because of the bandh. For the last 36 days, Jammu has come to a standstill. No trucks are plying here, the less talked the better of the Valley. This canard of an economic blockade is being spread only to give a different twist to the whole issue,” he said.
The row started after the government “diverted” 39.88 hectares of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board, sparking protests by separatists and mainstream parties in Kashmir. Under pressure, the government said the land had only been “diverted temporarily” for the two-month yatra period.
The issue snowballed into a major controversy when people took to the streets in Kashmir against the land transfer. Feeling the heat, the PDP withdrew support to the Azad-led government, causing its fall.
However, before resigning, the chief minister revoked the land transfer cabinet order, angering the people in Jammu and sparking massive protests.
Over 15 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in both Jammu and Kashmir since the pro- and anti-Amarnath land transfer agitations began last month.
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
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