Reports

Following a specific game plan, Islamic guerillas have once again executed two attacks on Hindus in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir this week. On May 13, two BJP activists were killed and 42 injured in a grenade attack on a party rally in Doda and just four days after it, on May 17, another grenade blast occurred injuring several Hindus some of them seriously. The attacks followed the gruesome carnage of 25 Hindus on April 30 in Kulhand area of the district.

This clearly points towards crumbling law and order situation in state and reflects the indifferent approach of the Congress government at the state and the Centre towards the security of minority Hindus of Doda district.

Both the incidents following the Kulhand attack point to serious security lapses on the part of the Congress led state and the Central government. Both the attacks have been executed in the heart of the Doda town in high security area close to the one where BJP workers have been sitting on protests for the past 16 days.

On May 13, BJP workers started off a peaceful protest rally from Ramlila Ground and barely had they covered some distance, a grenade was hurled killing two, and injuring several, seven of them seriously, the injured are still languishing at Jammu medical hospital.

And on May 17, the BJP workers were preparing for the launch of the 35 Hindu Village Defence Committee Members at Ramlila Grounds when a grenade blast occurred despite the installation of a security pickets around the Ground. And 15 people mainly Hindus were injured. The VDC members hailed from Kulhand area that witnessed the brutal killings and had come to Doda to obtain weapons to fight against the terrorists in their areas.

The grenade was lobbed from a passenger bus that just passed the attack site, a senior police officer told Organiser from Doda.

The state BJP spokesperson Shri Hari Om however said that blame lies directly with government that has failed to protect Hindus. The attacks reflect what the terrorists are up to, he added. ?No lessons have been learnt from the previous attacks and terrorists are striking at will while the Congress state and Centre leaders make fake claims of providing security to Hindus?, he said.

Hindus have been on hit list of Islamic guerrillas since the onset of insurgency in Kashmir. The Islamic fundamentalists are bent upon converting Jammu and Kashmir into Islamic state by ousting Hindus, who constitute less than 40 per cent population of the state. Leader of the Opposition Shri Lal Krishna Advani during his Doda visit also stated that attacks on Hindus in Doda were a part of a larger conspiracy towards ethnic cleansing on the lines of Kashmiri Pundits from Kashmir region.

This fresh bout of attacks against the Hindus has been unleashed by Lashkar-E-Tayyaba. Intelligence sources have disclosed that wireless intercepts from across the border reveal that Abu Tallah, the Bhaderwah-based divisional commander of the Lashkar, was directed to carry out the cold-blooded murders following the high voter turnout in the recent Bhaderwah by elections. Already, over 50 families have migrated from the Kulhand area and if the attacks against Hindus would continue, more Hindus would migrate. The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who hails from Doda has to rise to the occasion and ensure security of Hindus on ground.

Strains in PDP-Congress front

ow long would the Congress and the PDP marriage in Jammu and Kashmir last is the latest buzz among political circles here.

Both the parties have had rough patches in past too but the sex scandal expose in Kashmir has put the two on logger heads. Both the parties are accusing each other of sweeping the sex scandal under the carpet. Congress, on its part, is slamming the PDP for not acting when the sex scandal first surfaced in 2004 when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the chief minister. While the PDP claims that the Congress politicians had exerted grave pressure to keep the racket under the carpet. The divide has gone to such an extent that the PDP president Mehboooba Mufti during her public rallies is even asking people to get prepared for mid term polls.

The Congress has 21 MLAs in the 87-member House while PDP has 18 and the opposition National Conference 25. General Secretary of Congress, Abdul Majid Paddar other day too raised queries about PDP'slinks with terrorists. He has demanded CBI inquiry into the reported ?double-faced, unholy terrorist-politician links? and alleged that at least three sitting ministers have active links with terrorists. The rift was apparent further when the state Congress president Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed Wednesday dared the coalition partner to bring down the government.

Addressing a political convention, he said, ?If they want to pull out let them. We will run the government for three years.? Of late, Congress is getting closer to opposition National Conference and the talks doing rounds in political circles reveal that the two might like to admit relationship in public. If this happens, the Congress government can run without the PDP support.

The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohd Sayeed had dismissed any serious problems within the coalition government. The deputy Chief Minister Muzafar Hussain Beg was quoted by a Srinagar based newspaper that some Congress leaders had overstepped the directions from the Congress high command as well as the Congress to ensure the PDP'sdefeat in recent bypoll. ?The NC is eager to extend outside support to the Congress and unfortunately some Congressmen are contributing in their game plan,? Beg asserted. About the constant strain in the coalition government Mehbooba said the alliance had been forged at the highest level of Prime Minister Dr Singh and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi. ?We would surely take those difficulties at the appropriate forum.?

Will the government last full term? ?Well, I am not a doomsayer,? she shot back. About her midterm poll remark Mehbooba said she actually wanted to put her cadres in the election mode. ?I believe countdown has begun.? PDP chief didn'treply when asked whether she was satisfied with Ghulam Nabi Azad'sway of carrying the coalition. It is just a matter of days that both sides would announce breaking of relationship, said a political observer as Azad does not want any trouble or diversions since he wants to depute all his energies towards making Kashmir roundtable a success.

Manmohan talks to nowhere

hough the Kashmiri separatist group Hurriyat conference has remained non-committal about its participation in two days Round Table Conference on Kashmir scheduled from May 24, its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has however agreed to meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Srinagar visit. Hurriyat claims that it has not received invitation from the Indian government, the decision whether to attend or stay away would be taken on May 21-22 rally of the group to commemorate the death anniversary of the Umar'sfather and former Mirwaiz Moulana Farooq. The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is also using all possible means to get Hurriyat on the table, because if its not attended by separatist forces, the entire purpose would be dissolved. Sources have also added that indifference from Hurriyat has triggered speculations about the round table being postponed. However Union Minister for Water resources and Congress hand in ?track-II? activities, Professor Saif-ud-Din Soz asserted that the intermediaries had enough time to convince Hurriyat Conference for participation in the moot, reported a local newspaper. Mirwaiz Umar however is insisting that round table had no ?special meaning? for Hurriyat. ?We?re more concerned about the dialogue at two separate levels with Pakistan and India.?

Mirwaiz however said he had no problem in meeting Prime Minister saying that Hurriyat wanted a speedy talks process. Senior leader in Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference, Professor Abdul Gani Bhat said Hurriyat would meet to discuss the issue after May 21. ?We need to be politically correct. And I am confident that whatever the decision it would be politically correct,? Professor Bhat said. The hurriyat had stayed away from February round table conference held in Delhi. Terrorist groups had warned Hurriyat against participation and knowing the power of the terrorists, Hurriyat leadership stayed away from it.

So far, no formal invitation has been extended to the Hurriyat Conference and others outside the Hurriyat fold. Pertinently, JKLF Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik has ruled out his attendance in the round table.