BJP, JKNPP slam Oppn for raking up West Pak Refugees issue

BJP and JKNPP today criticised the Opposition and the separatists for resisting Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to issue identity cards to West Pakistan Refugees, saying their "orchestrated and misleading" protests were aimed at fomenting trouble in the state.
BJP state chief Sat Sharma said the decision was meant to benefit the refugees in getting central government jobs and joining security forces. "What is wrong in it," Sharma asked.
He said separatists and opposition parties were out to trigger trouble by an "orchestrated and misleading campaign to create an impression that the government was changing the status" of the refugees and giving them domicile certificates.

He also slammed the protesters for opposing colonies for state subject members of armed forces and Kashmiri Pandits.
Lashing at National Conference and separatists, Labha Ram Gandhi, Chairman of West Pakistan Refugee Action Committee, said if the state government provided support to Rohingya Muslims in settling them in Jammu "what problem do they have with a handful of West Pakistan refugees".
Gandhi condemned separatists' call for a shutdown against the decision. "We are not asking for a domicile certificates, We are just asking for citizenship in a state where we have been living for the past 70 years. We are citizens of India. This propaganda of the separatists is wrong," Gandhi said.

He appealed to the people in Jammu region to support them.

"Our children are not getting jobs, education, land in state and have no voting rights. This is discrimination with our generations," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) chairman Harsh Dev Singh said if the government "can settle Rohingya Muslims in Jammu, what problem do separatists and other parties have in giving us an identification certificate."
Jammu and Kashmir government yesterday issued a clarification after protests against the move, saying it has decided to give only identity certificates to WPRs and the settlers were not being given "domicile certificates".

It said a "false and contrived impression" was being created over the change of status of WPRs and all reports in this regard were being "deliberately" spread to disturb the political-economic interests of the people.