Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that the issue of revocation of contentious law Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act-AFSPA from Jammu and Kashmir is being discussed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the state chief minister Omar Abdulllah and it won’t be appropriate for him to speak about it.
Mr Gandhi, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function held in Budgam, a town near Srinagar, to launch Umeed (hope) programme on women empowerment and welfare said, “It is a discussion between chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the Prime Minister. It is not appropriate for me to make a statement.” The Congress leaders’ evading to speak his mind on the issue comes at a stage when ally Omar Abdullah and his party is pitching afresh for withdrawing the act from at least the areas which are peaceful and where Army does not operate. The effort of the state government has, so far, met stiff resistance from the Army.
[Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir’s hilly region of Doda-Kishtwar to meet survivors of the recent devastating earthquake and also assess a Central government-sponsored project on women empowerment but due to hostile weather the trip was cancelled and instead he took off for Srinagar]. The Congress vice-president while talking to party workers at the PCC headquarters here urged them to reach out to people at grassroots level. The elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly are due later in 2014 but as the talk of an early election is doing rounds here both the Congress and its coalition partner National Conference have geared up to return to the electorate to seek their support. It is, however, not clear if the two will fight the elections together on seat-adjustment basis or separately.
At Budgam, chief minister Mr Abdullah underlined the role of women in checking the menace of female foeticide and drug addiction among the youth describing these dangerous threats to the future of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the reports of female foeticide from the state are of greater concern and alarming while drug addiction among the youth is equally disturbing. “If these two dangerous social diseases are not restricted well in time the future of the state would be endangered,” he said. He added the women groups to be organised under Umeed programme have a special role to play in eradicating these evils.
Mr Gandhi said that the holistic development of the society is not possible without the active participation of women in the development process. He said the faster growth and eradication of poverty in the states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra is because of the empowerment of women and their active participation in development programmes.
He also said that Union government has sanctioned `750 crore under Umeed programme to Jammu and Kashmir to organise self-help groups of women for addressing their economic challenges and contributing in curbing the social evils. He cited the example of Amethi constituency and said that Umeed-like initiative has given confidence to women to work and stand up on their own feet.
The Congress leader said that during his 2012 visit to the state, he interacted with the youth at Kashmir University, Srinagar and asked them to visit Amethi and observe the benefits percolated to women under Umeed.