By News Agency of Kashmir,
Jammu : Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has accused the Congress led coalition government of hatching a conspiracy to destroy the invaluable printed works by shifting the record to Ram Singh Palace which is allegedly in a state of decay and may collapse any time.
“The state government is planning to shift invaluable printed works including administration reports, gazetteers, census reports, council proceedings, Praja Sabja debates, rare books, and priceless and old records to Ram Singh Palace which is in a state of decay and which may collapse any time,” state BJP vice-president Professor Hari Om told reporters here on Thursday.
The BJP leader disclosed that this record deals with the history and culture of the Dogras, administration under the Dogras, origin of J&K in 1846, splendid contribution of Generals Zorawar Singh and Baj Singh, relations between Kashmir and Jammu and relations between the state and the British Indian Government, adding that these printed and rare works and unpublished historical records are available with the State Archives Library, Mubarak Mandi, Jammu, since several decades.
Accusing the state government of pursuing the line of Sheikh Abdullah and other Kashmir-based Kashmiri rulers, he alleged that it appears that there are certain elements in the state’s political establishment who have joined hands with the Director, State Archieves, S K A Qadiri, who allegedly knows nothing about archives and whose only contribution is the chaos he has created over the period in the crucial archives.
He further alleged that the shifting of the rich literature to Ram Singh Palace, which doesn’t have suitable rooms for the safe preservation of this invaluable historical wealth, would automatically mean its destruction and an attempt designed to destroy everything that throws light on the history and culture of the ‘Dogras’.
He informed that the BJP would oppose the shifting of the records and printed material from the existing building to Ram Singh Palace, adding that it would support the state government if it could think in terms of shifting the historical literature to Kala Kendra, Bikram Chowk Jammu.