Parliamentary Panel begins 4-day visit to J&K; holds talks with business heads

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs began a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, August 18, and held interactive sessions, deliberations with the representatives of grassroots institutions including business and trade heads. Earlier on June 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met the top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on June 24, for the first time since the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir special status in 2019. 

According to the sources, "The Committee will also review the working conditions of three Central Armed Police Forces namely, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Force (BSF)". 

PM Modi's all-party meet 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired J&K all-party meeting on June 24 at 3 PM. 14 leaders of Jammu and Kashmir including Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, Tara Chand, and GA Mir; National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah; PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, J-K Apni Party's Altaf Bukhari, participated in the first interaction after 2 years of revocation of Article 370. 

Delimitation, statehood, and assembly elections were the key issues discussed at the meeting. PM Modi had informed that the main focus of the meeting was to strengthen the democratic process and are fully committed to the democratic process in J&K.  

According to sources, when Mehbooba Mufti, raised concerns over reinstating Article 370, the government took the stand that the matter was sub judice and the Supreme Court would take a decision on it. 

Congress party's demands in the all-party meeting

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and Tara Chand, represented the Congress in the all-party meeting and put forth five demands including restoration of statehood and conduct Assembly Elections in Jammu & Kashmir. 

Speaking to reporters after the all-party meeting Ghulam Nabi Azad had said, “In today’s (June 24, 2021) meeting, from Congress’s side, we informed the Prime Minister why the State should have not been dissolved. The move was done without consulting elected representatives. But in the end, after saying all this, we have put up five big demands in front of the government. Statehood should be restored at the earliest was our first demand”.

(With ANI input)

(Image credit: @ANI/TWITTER)