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Journalism of Courage
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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today asked Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani to draw up a framework for the talks with the elected representatives of the state that the Centre has proposed.
Meeting Advani soon after landing here, he had a 20-minute meeting with him. According to sources close to the Chief Minister, he did not insist on the inclusion of the Hurriyat Conference, which has by and large been sidelined by the Centre for any future talks on Kashmir.
So far, Mufti has been mentioning the Hurriyat and insurgent groups as having a stake in the talks. The sources said that ever since the Centre indicated a tough stand against the Hurriyat by impounding the passport of its former chairman, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Mufti has chosen to avoid any mention of the Hurriyat while pleading for talks with the Centre.
He has in the past publicly pleaded with the Hurriyat to grab the opportunity and join the process of dialogue but the Hurriyat has been insisting on its well-known stance of a tripartite dialogue involving Pakistan.
And it seems to have painted itself into a corner as Britain’s High Commissioner Rob Young’s stern message to it yesterday indicated.
Mufti told Advani that he looked forward to playing just a ‘‘humble facilitator’’ in the process of reconciliation between the Centre and the Kashmiri rebels.
Mufti wants the Centre to initiate talks with a state legislature committee. At a later stage, he feels, the dialogue could be extended to the rebels.
‘‘The initiative has to come from the Centre,’’ Mufti’s spokesman said. Mufti is also reported to have asked Advani to continue the special dispensation to Jammu and Kashmir under which the state has had 50 per cent of its administrative officers as promotees from the state services.
In other states, only 30 per cent of the officers are from the state services. This special deal that has enabled locals to reach top administrative posts will come to an end unless Advani agrees to renew the concession.
Advani, who heads the national task force for drought relief, has also promised to look into the state’s problems because of the continuing drought situation for the past five years.
Mufti will meet Finance Minister Jaswant Singh during his stay here to ask for a special package for drought relief. The Centre has to clear huge claims of the state on this account.
The power scarcity in the state also came up for discussion at the meeting with Advani. Mufti asked Advani to help him in supplying continuous power to the people in winter. The state government had earlier sought a special package to meet its daily budget of Rs 1 crore for maintaining round-the-clock power supply in the state.
Today Mufti asked Advani to allow the state to draw more than its due share of power from the northern grid till February. The CM pleaded that the investment in power was worth it since it will be seen as a major relief from hardship by the people.
