JAMMU: UT’s Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said that there is no place in Jammu and Kashmir for anybody who is opposed to India and the tricolour. “Ab Jammu Kashmir mein bharat aur tirange ke virodh ke liye koi jagah nahi hai.
Jo koi iska virodh karega to samvidhan ki puri shaktiyo ka parjog karte huey aise logo ke virud karvai ki jayegi. (Now there is no place for opposition to India and the tricolour. If someone does it, action will be taken against him using all provisions of the Constitution),” he said while talking to reporters in Jammu.
Pointing out that his administration, with the support of the central government, has been working to dismantle the entire eco-system of terrorism, Sinha said, “Those misguiding youth and providing them logistics are no less guilty than the new children (terrorist recruits) who kill the innocent or throw grenade at someone’s instructions.” This is an entire eco-system of terror, he added.
“While we have been working against terrorists, making efforts to check recruitment to their ranks and creating new employment opportunities for the youth, we are also working to dismantle the entire eco-system of terror.
“I want to say that a system has been put in place to ensure that not a single penny from J&K government or the Government of India goes to a person linked to terrorism,” the Lt Governor said. Stating that the UT administration has been successful to a large extent, he added, “If there are still some leakages, we are working to cover them as well.”
“Our goal is not to kill all the terrorists, but to provide people in Jammu and Kashmir an atmosphere to lead a normal life like those living in Haryana and Bhubaneshwar,” he said, adding that the day they start living like that, the goal is achieved. “We have a larger goal… The Prime Minister and the home minister are monitoring the situation and reviewing it on a monthly basis,” he said.
Comparing the situation with the past, Sinha said there has been a magical change in Jammu and Kashmir. While stone-pelting has become a history, the shopkeepers are no more forced to close their shops under threat, he said. “The shopkeepers are telling me that they have never witnessed such golden days,” he said expressing hope to achieve the goal as there has been a lot of progress in that direction.
Lt governor Manoj Sinha also announced an increase in the ex gratia for the next of kin of the Indian Army soldiers hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, who have died while performing their duties in the Union Territory or elsewhere. Earlier, it was Rs 5 lakh in case of those who died in J&K and Rs 4 lakh who died elsewhere, he pointed out.
Pointing out that he had received representation from various quarters to enhance the relief as per other parts of the country, the Lt Governor said, “The file is in progress and the Chief Secretary told me that it will take two more days.”
“However, I directed him to start providing Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin of the two soldiers who died in avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh, and whose bodies reached here today,” he added, while paying homage to the deceased soldiers.
About the Covid-19 situation in the UT, Sinha said that all schools and colleges will reopen within the next two weeks. Pointing out that the time has come for the re-opening of educational institutions, he said, “We are opening classes from 9 to 12 from Monday and the rest of the classes from the next week. All schools and colleges will become functional (within two weeks),” he said, adding that he has empowered all the deputy commissioners and education department officials in the districts, besides Divisional Commissioners of both the divisions, to take a decision in the matter.
