its Budget Session on July 27 this year in the new complex, it began with chaos and confusion.
On the first day of Budget Session of 2009, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti had a ‘mike fight’ with Speaker Mohammed Akber Lone. Next day, Abdullah was accused of involvement in 2006 sexual exploitation scam. Abdullah offered to resign but later withdrew it after he was given a clean chit. The third day of the session was equally chaotic.
KASHMIR CRICKETER ARRESTED IN BANGALORE
Cricket had another controversy when on October 18, two players of J&K cricket team, Parvez Rasool and Mehraj-ud-in, were detained after traces of RDX was allegedly found in his kit bag but were subsequently released for lack of solid evidence, prompting nervous organisers of the Champions League to delay the start of its Twenty20 matches.
From Bangalore to Bijbehara, wherefrom the poor player hailed, everybody went into a tizzy. Rasool was detained after detectors allegedly found traces of RDX in his kit bag during a security check. The entire team was thrown out of their state accommodation. They were literally on roads as everybody suspected them.
Parvez’s bag was sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis, where tests proved no such thing. The J&K police was also asked to do the background check on the players. Parvez’s brother in an interview had termed the incident as the act of vengeance. “Parvez has incensed the security personnel by not allowing them to use sniffer dogs on his bag which contained the Holy Quran,” he said.
When everybody was behind the poor cricketer Farooq Abdullah played the villain by saying that “somebody from Kashmir has passed on the information to Bangalore police.”
Most of the peple in Kashmir said that the team should not have played in the tournament in protest against the incident. “It would have been a fitting reply if the team would have refused to play and come back to heroes welcome,” said a young man in Srinagar, who wished not to be named. The authorities rather pressured the team to stay back.
INTER-DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT ROW
Around 1000 jobs in government sector were lost by Kashmiris to Jammuites as the district cadre recruitment became open to all. In Kashmir division big districts encroached on the jobs of small districts, thus the controversy was set rolling. Kupwara being he worst hit lead the charge against this “discrimination”.
On October 12, 2009, a complete shutdown was observed in Kupwara. They were demanding leaving district level jobs for local youth only. Politicians, traders and representatives from other groups have come together to form a committee and asked the state government to pass a law, banning “inter-district appointments”.
Five MLAs representing Kupwara, three from National Conference, one from PDP and another independent, even threatened to commit suicide inside the Assembly during the Budget Session, forcing the government to assure them that a bill would be tabled soon.
However, sharp division among ruling party MLAs stalled any such move.
The backward places like Kupwara and Poonch became the main victims of inter-district appointments and candidates from more educationally forward places like Jammu, Kathua and Srinagar got selected for these low level district cadre posts.
The anger over inter-district and inter-division appointments is more palpable in the valley as people believe that candidates from Jammu division walk away with a majority of jobs, as seen in recent appointments for Naib Tehsildars.
So stark is the division in the ruling alliance, more along the regional lines than party affiliations, that one cabinet minister from Congress, Raman Bhalla, opposed banning the inter-district appointments while another cabinet minister from the party, Taj Moiuddin, supported it.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted to the gravity of situation and its potential to inflame further and said his government had prepared a legislation, which would be brought during the next Assembly session.
CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ISSUE
Even if there was not a single protest in favour of setting up Central University in Kashmir and not Jammu, still it was made into an Jammu Vs Kashmir issue. Jammuites, hell bent on getting the university, went on for continuous strikes. Kashmir remained indifferent towards this mega university. In the end New Delhi gave two universities one each for either divisions. But for getting an additional university, first of such an instance in
