Rajnath Singh's visit disappointed people, says JK National Panthers Party

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today said that the "much-hyped visit" of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had left people disappointed as it had "failed to address their aspirations".

The JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh said that the Jammu-centric issues like deportation of illegally settled Rohingya Muslims and providing land to border dwellers in safer places, had failed to receive "due and focused" attention of the minister.

People had high hopes from Rajnath Singh's visit, Harsh Dev Singh said.

He criticised the Union home minister for not addressing the pre-poll promise of his ruling BJP of providing five marla plots (roughly 1, 360 sq.ft of land) to residents of border villages.

This was the main demand of the border dwellers, he added.

Villages along the International Border (IB) with Pakistan are the worst-hit in cross-border firing.

The JKNPP chief also questioned the minister's announcements of raising five Indian Reserve Police (IRP) battalions, which would have 60 per cent reservation for border dwellers, and construction of individual bunkers.

Promises are meaningless unless they are translated into reality and the Union home minister needs to evolve a proper mechanism with periodic review of the progress made, Harsh Dev Singh said.

The JKNPP chief said that it was unfortunate that the demand for state subject rights by West Pakistan refugees was again ignored and only a compensation was announced for them.

He alleged that the issue of deportation of Rohingya Muslims was also downplayed by Rajnath Singh during his two-day visit.

It is ironic that the Union home minister spoke of identification of illegal immigrants even when it is the last year of the BJP-led NDA government's term, he said.

Harsh Dev Singh also criticised the amnesty announced for stone-pelters in Kashmir.

He said that it was distressing to see the Union home minister advocate the case of stone-pelters and favouring the withdrawal of FIRs against anti-national elements.

The regional leader also denounced Rajnath Singh's silence over the demand by Jammu people for a CBI probe into the Kathua rape and murder case.