At a time when the Jammu and Kashmir government is backing a move to hold panchayat polls, a minister has struck a discordant note by supporting the governor's decision to return the Panchayati Raj amendment bill to the legislature for reconsideration.
Revenue Minister Hakim Mohammad Yasin said: "I am of the firm view that panchayat (village council) elections during the summer will interfere with the peace process and the tourist season in the Kashmir Valley.
"I have also demanded that the panchayat elections be deferred by at least six months."
The position taken by Yasin - who heads the People's Democratic Forum (PDF), a combination of 11 legislators that is part of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's coalition - is at odds with Sayeed's eagerness to hold panchayat polls in the next few months.
Reacting to Governor Lt. Gen. (retired) S.K. Sinha's decision to return the Panchayati Raj amendment bill, Yasin told IANS: "For us, the most important thing at the moment is the peace process.
"If panchayat polls are held at this point of time, they can provoke the militants to go in for increased violence. That would be bad for the peace process.
"Why create such a situation which is avoidable? Let's focus on consolidating the peace process," Yasin said.
Governor Sinha returned the bill and urged the speaker to place it before the house for reconsideration, according to officials.
This is only the second time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that a bill has been sent back for reconsideration to the state legislature. In the early 1980s, then governor B.K. Nehru had sent the Resettlement Bill back for reconsideration after it was passed in April 1982.
Yasin said at a point of time when tourists had started visiting the Kashmir Valley and farmers were busy in their fields, the holding of the panchayat elections would have interfered with such activities.
"And we should not inflict election fatigue on the people. After all, we had the civic body polls across the state early this year. We should not force polls after polls on the people," he remarked.
British security service Mi5 reviles V K Krishna Menon
Publish Date : 3/5/2007 7:15:00 AM
Britain's security service Mi5 literally pilloried V K Krishna Menon, veteran freedom fighter and India's first High Commissioner to the UK, describing him as "dishonest, immoral and intriguer" and kept a tag on him for thirty years before .....
Harry to take 2 weeks holiday for mother's concert
Publish Date : 3/5/2007 7:12:00 AM
Prince Harry will make an emotional return to Britain from the Iraqi frontline to attend a memorial concert for his mother Princess Diana at the new Wembley stadium on July one.
Email from PM's office led to Goldsmith gag: media
Publish Date : 3/5/2007 7:08:00 AM
A confidential email from the Prime Minister's office was at the centre of the dramatic intervention by Britain's Attorney General into the cash-for-honours investigation, a leading newspaper claimed today.
Blair hopes Iraq factor would go with him
Publish Date : 3/5/2007 7:05:00 AM
British Prime Minister Tony Blair feels that when he steps down later this year the Iraq factor will also go with him and it will not impact on the ruling Labour party at the next general election.
Indian diplomat felicitated in UK
Publish Date : 3/5/2007 7:03:00 AM
Indian diplomat K S Bharadwaj has been felicitated by the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) for his "outstanding services to the press and the community" in the United Kingdom.
Terror threat to Britain highest since 9/11: report
Publish Date : 2/26/2007 9:04:00 AM
The threat of a terrorist attack in Britain by home-grown Al Qaeda agents is higher than at any time since the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a secret British government report.
Blair ignored Chirac's warning on Iraq 'disaster'
Publish Date : 2/26/2007 8:36:00 AM
A senior aide of Tony Blair has said the British Prime Minister ignored French President Jacques Chirac's warning that an invasion of Iraq would have "disastrous" consequences.
Britain to send 1000 more troops to Afghanistan: report
Publish Date : 2/24/2007 8:38:00 AM
Britain will deploy an extra 1,000 troops in Afghanistan to counter an expected surge in offensive by the Taliban in spring, a media report said today.
New Bhutan king to visit India
Publish Date : 2/5/2007 8:38:00 AM
Bhutan's future king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will embark on a six-day official visit to India starting February 7 during which the two countries will sign the India Bhutan Friendship Treaty, 2007.
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Publish Date : 2/5/2007 8:36:00 AM
Tens of thousands of turkeys are being culled in Britain today to contain country's first mass outbreak of Avian flu of the deadly H5N1 strain.
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