NEW DELHI: A four member delegation of BJP MPs which visited Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir recently, demanded that the district should be declared disturbed, handed over to the Army, and people should be provided firearms to fight militancy. The team comprising Major Gen B.C.Khanduri (retd) Vishnukant Shastri, Chetan Chauhan and Anand Batna Maurya said that there were nearly 10,000 ex service men in the district who could form a “village volunteer force” and provided with sophisticated weapons to fight militants.
The BJP had despatched the cam to make an on the spot assessment of the situation after a woman from Doda district met Home Minister S.B.Chavan and other central leaders to press for these demands. Since the government had not taken any concrete steps, the BJP decided to take up the issue on a continuous basis. One of the major recommendations of the committee was that four routes connecting the valley with Doda district should be manned and sealed by the Army from Anantnag side to prevent militants from infiltrating.
The committee also said that since most of the police stations in the district, had virtually been captured by militants, large scale purging of police and administrative personnel should be done after a thorough inquiry. An Army Cantonment at Bhaderwah had been proposed to be setup by the Army’s Northern Command, The work should immediately be started to infuse confidence among the people.
The CRPF should be deployed m addition to the Border Security Force.
‘The BIP delegation also felt that talks of giving the state of Jammu & Kashmir the pre1952 status must be stopped forthwith as such talk encouraged militancy and separatism. It was pointed out that more than 1, 50 militants were operating in Doda district and a training camp had also been setup there. Efforts were also being made to divide the district on communal lines to achieve the antinational Objective of a “greater Kashmir.”
Article extracted from this publication >> May 21, 1993
