Demand settlement of refugees, special
recruitment for SC/ST/OBC/minorities
NEW DELHI, Dec
19: Refugee leaders today called on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union
Home Minister Shushil Kumar Shinde and appealed
for the one time settlement of the West Pakistan, 1947 refugees, 1971, and 1965
refugees. The delegation included refugee leaders and former minister
Manjit Singh, Vice Chairman of Advisory Board for the Welfare and Development
of other Backward Classes Kuldeep Verma and Vice Chairman of Gujjar Bakerwal
Advisory Board Bashir Naaz. During their meeting with the Prime Minister, the
refugee leader Manjit Singh demanded that the union government should conduct
special recruitment drives in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch
districts, while the age, qualification, height relaxation should also be given
to the youth belonging to the border areas.
Regarding the refugees’ issues, senior Congress leader
Manjit Singh appealed for one time settlement of the refugees of 1965, 1971,
1947 and West Pak refugees. Manjit said that the government should grant
adequate crop compensation to the farmers since their lives had become
miserable due to the non cultivation of the land or they should move the
present fence to the 'zero line', giving relief to the farmers so that they
could be able to till their fields. “The compensation and rent for the land
coming under ditch-com-bundh constructed by army in 1965 should be enhanced,”
Singh said. Besides this, the deputation of Congress leaders called on Union
Home Minister Shushil Kumar Shinde and the refugee leaders submitted a
memorandum to the minister. The memorandum includes
demand for the construction of fourth bridge on Chenab River, widening of Jammu
to Akhnoor and then to Poonch road, special recruitment for the Scheduled Caste
(SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minority
communities.
Meanwhile, the deputation leaders Kuldeep Verma and
Bashir Naaz demanded construction of rail line from Jammu to Poonch. Verma also
demanded the reservation quota of OBC people in Jammu and Kashmir should be
increased from its present quota. Other demands in the memorandum included
inclusion of Gojri language in the eighth schedule and also appealed that a
Gujjar Regiment should also be raised in the Army.
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