Disappointed over the “total neglect” meted out to the Kashmir region in the Union Budget, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would have to grant something special to the Valley to maintain the balance between the two principal regions of the State.
“They have announced an IIT for Jammu. It is good that Jammu has got something, but Arun Jaitley knows the politics of this State well. If Jammu gets something, Kashmir should get something too,” Mr. Abdullah told presspersons after addressing a gathering at a remembrance ceremony of his grandmother Begum Akbar Jehan beside Sheikh Abdullah’s mausoleum at Hazratbal.
Leaders of the National Conference referred to the days when the Manmohan Singh government granted a Central University to Kashmir, but the politicians of Jammu region, irrespective of party affiliation, launched an agitation and they did not rest until the Centre announced a similar university for Jammu. They criticised the Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), asking why the State’s only party in the Lok Sabha failed to get anything from Mr. Jaitley for the Valley.
“We do not see Achche Din [good times] yet. And the way the monsoon has played out, we should not expect Achche Din anytime soon. They [the BJP] talked about Achche Din before the elections, but after winning the elections, they said they would have to give us a bitter pill first to achieve Achche Din ,” Mr. Abdullah said. “But this Budget neither talks about Achche Din nor has it given us a feeling of that bitter pill. It has not been even two months yet [after the new government assumed office), let some time pass, then we will see.”
Mr. Abdullah said it was not clear whether an amount of Rs. 500 crore announced by Mr. Jaitley was in addition to a previous package for return and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri migrants or an altogether new package.
The allocation was just peanuts if it was all the Centre was going to give in response to the State government’s comprehensive package for the displaced population. In November 2013, Mr. Abdullah’s government submitted a Rs. 5,800-crore package to the Centre, proposing free land, cash relief of Rs. 20 lakh for construction of each house and creation of 3,000 government jobs for a special employment drive.
