Jammu, Dec 2014, KNT: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, unveiled a vision document promising citizenship rights and rehabilitation measures for various refugee communities, including Hindu refugees from West Pakistan and displaced populations affected by conflict and migration.
The document outlined BJP’s proposed political, social and administrative agenda for Jammu and Kashmir if elected to power.
Among the major promises, the party pledged to grant citizenship rights to Hindu refugees from West Pakistan residing in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the vision document, these rights would include voting rights in Assembly and local body elections, the right to own immovable property, access to higher and technical education and eligibility for state government employment.
The issue carried political and constitutional significance as West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir had long remained outside the framework of full state subject rights available to permanent residents.
The BJP document also said the party would address what it described as genuine claims of 1947 refugees from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and prioritize refugee rehabilitation.
According to the document, compensation would be provided to refugees affected by the wars of 1965 and 1971 as well as to border migrants displaced by conflict and cross-border shelling.
The party proposed abolition of the Custodian Department and allotment of evacuee properties to their occupants.
It also promised parity in ex-gratia compensation paid to families affected by cross-border firing and militant violence.
The vision document further stated that if elected, BJP would launch special recruitment drives in Jammu and Kashmir Police and other uniformed services for people living in border areas.
As part of its border rehabilitation policy, the party proposed allotment of five-marla plots in designated “safe zones” located in rear areas for border residents vulnerable to shelling and displacement.
The document also proposed political representation measures linked to displaced and refugee communities.
BJP pledged reservation of five seats for refugees out of the 24 Assembly seats traditionally kept vacant for Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Additionally, it proposed reserving three seats for displaced Kashmiris from the 46 Assembly constituencies earmarked for Kashmir Valley.
The party’s election blueprint also addressed the issue of displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
BJP promised to initiate what it described as a “just and honorable” resettlement process for Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
The document further proposed establishment of a Sharda University and inclusion of Devnagri as an alternate script for the Kashmiri language.
The vision document emerged as BJP intensified its election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir and sought to broaden support among refugees, displaced communities and sections advocating constitutional and administrative reforms. [KNT]
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