JAMMU: Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed Wednesday said he was grateful to New Delhi for meeting his expectations. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focused and believes more expectations than expected were fulfilled.
I am grateful to the Government of India for their support, Mufti told reporters soon after the cabinet meeting was over. I have seen so many prime Ministers but Narendra Modi is totally focused.
He said the Centre also had for the first time announced Rs.2000 crore package for one-time settlement of PoK refugees and Chambh DPs as well as separate packages for Jammu and Kashmir migrants and victims of the colossal floods of 2014. I am not an ungrateful person. I have seen many Prime Ministers in the past, he said, while referring to the Prime Ministers development package announced for J&K during his public meeting in Srinagar, last month.
Mufti described as evolutionary process the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan. He made a reference to his earlier tenure between 2002 and 2005 when through a series of measures peace prevailed from Keran to Kathua, which culminated in the first cross-LoC bus travelling from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar.
Mufti Sayeed highlighted his efforts to take forward the cross-LoC trade and travel, which he defined as the biggest CBM (Confidence Building Measure) between the two neighbouring countries.
I went to Chakan da Bagh in Poonch recently. We want to take the travel beyond ritual meetings between divided families and introduce banking and telecommunication facilities at the Trade Facilitation Centres. Our Central government is responsive, but Pakistan has some reservations, he added.
On talks, Mufti said, pehle apnun ko milana tha. Donu partiyan mili. He though agreed that its challenging job.
On Dr Farooq Abdullahs suggestion that India and Pakistan should retain what they have of Kashmir, Mufti said there is no need to jump to the conclusions. It is an evolutionary process, he said. Let us see how it evolves. We want to make things easy, he asserted.
Mufti refused to take the rising intolerance in India seriously. He said India is a great democracy and there are enough of inherent checks and balances.
On his recent meeting with BJP ministers and MLAs, Mufti while answering a question said that even brothers have differences. We have to address them.
I am here to listen. What my job is, he added.
Mufti said the cricket matches will be played in the stadium where Prime Minister Modi made a speech. But the international cricket will take some time, he said.
The Chief Minister highlighted several initiatives taken by the government to strengthen institutions like PSC and SSB so that vacancies both at gazetted and subordinate levels are filled up in a transparent and time-bound manner. He also referred to the measures taken for rationalization of schools in Education Department and strengthening of infrastructure in the healthcare sector.
The Chief Minister said the State Accountability Commission (SAC) has been created under an Act of the Legislature and the powers of the Commission are envisaged under the Act. While the focus is to address the concerns of graft, we also have to ensure that there is no witch-hunting, he added.
The Chief Minister also reiterated his commitment on holding local body elections in the state which, he said will facilitate the devolution of powers to the people at the grassroots level.
Mufti was flanked by Dr Nirmal Singh, Naeem Akhatra and Chaudhary Zulfikaar Ali.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |