PRC issue puts Govt in tight spot
West Pakistan Refugees Are Not JK
Residents: Sagar
Jammu, Jan 7:
The issue of granting Permanent Resident Certificates (PRC) to West Pakistan
refugees is set to snowball into a major political controversy besides bringing
coalition partners Congress and National Conference (NC) head-on, as the
government Monday made it clear that it has no plans to bring any
constitutional amendment in this regard as the West Pakistan refugees are not
residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Rebuffing its coalition partner Congress on
granting Permanent Resident Certificates (PRC) to West Pakistan refugees,
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Sagar Monday said; “Anybody was free to bring a Bill in the
legislature in this regard, but the government has no plans to do it on its
own.” “As
far as amendment is concerned, anyone can bring the Bill,” Sagar said but
hastened to add, “Where is the two thirds majority that is required to amend
the constitution?” “West Pakistan refugees are not the residents of Jammu and
Kashmir and as such there is no question of giving them PRCs”, Sagar
said, when his attention was drawn towards the statement of a Congress minister
in this regard. “Granting PRCs to West
Pakistan refugees doesn’t come under the ambit of the Constitution of Jammu and
Kashmir as they are not the residents of our state’, Sagar added.
He
also said that it is an issue which comes under the purview of Government of
India and therefore, the onus lies with the central government to settle the
issue.
However, he
added that the Chief Minister had already expressed his concern about the
problems being faced by the West Pakistan refuges ever since they had been
displaced. “In this regard CM has already requested the Government of India to
settle the issue”, he said.
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