By News Agency of Kashmir
BJP objects presence of Wajahat; says will not allow division on communal lines
Jammu : The much awaited meeting of Fifth Working Group on `strengthening Relations between state and the center’ has been scheduled for September 2 and 3 at New Delhi.
Well informed sources revealed that the meeting would be chaired by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice (Rted) Saghir Ahmed and is likely to be addressed among others by Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah.
The meeting would discuss the issues relating to regional imbalance in development and other matters and issues relating to backward areas within the three regions beside the methods of strengthening of democracy, secularism and rule of law in the state, sources told News Agency of Kashmir.
Though four out of five working groups constituted by Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh during second roundtable conference at Srinagar have already submitted its recommendations to the PMO, the suggestions of fifth working group was awaited as the members could not meet in the past for one reason or the other.
Sources further added that agenda of the meeting has already been circulated among the members of the Group, who have been asked to remain present in the meeting.
However, there are apprehensions that the meeting may face road blocks in view of the strong objections being raised by Bhartiya Janta Party regarding the presence and address of Wajahat Habibullah in the meeting.
Though the agenda of the meeting, circulated by Khursheed Ganai, principal secretary to the government General Administration Department reads the Wajaht Habibullah, Chief Information Commission, “will make presentation on the subject matter placed before the working group”, the BJP apprehends that the retired IAS officer may present his controversial `formula on Kashmir issue’ in the meeting.
“Wajahat Habibullah is not a member of this working group and the chairman of the group is allowing him in the meet only under pressure from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh”, BJP’s national executive member Dr Nirmal Singh said here today.
His colleague and state president Ashok Khajuria said that Wajaht has worked out a formula on communal lines as per which the state shall have five regional assemblies. “The BJP shall neither allow the working group nor the PM to toy with such a dangerous idea aiming at separation of Muslim majority areas from the Hindu dominated Jammu province”, he said.