BJP leader meets former NC leader Bukhari in Jammu
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Wednesday met former minister Mushtaq Ahmad Shah Bukhari here, a day after he resigned from the basic membership of National Conference over the issue of Scheduled Tribe status for Pahari speaking community.
The meeting gave rise to speculation that Bukhari, a two-time MLA from Surankote constituency of Poonch district, is joining the saffron party even as Raina said he enjoys family terms with the elderly politician and his meeting with him was just a courtesy call .
In a related development, a video has gone viral on social media purportedly of a telephonic conversation between National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and a party worker on the issue of Bukhari’s resignation with former chief minister making it clear that the party has been projecting the demand of Pahari community for a very long time and that Bukhari has some personal interest to safeguard and is projecting the special status demand for his community to justify his exit from the party and join BJP.
Bukhari is a political stalwart and soul of Pahari community I have seen him working for the welfare of Pahari’s from my childhood and since we enjoy family terms with him, I have come to have tea and know his welfare, the BJP leader told reporters after meeting the 75-year-old leader at his residence here.
Raina said Bukhari has always worked for the welfare of the people, especially of the Pahari community, and in the national interest.
When asked whether he invited him to join the BJP, he said he is our leader who was hurt by his party (NC). We respect him and he remains very close to our heart.
In the viral video, an unknown National Conference worker, apparently from the Pahari community, termed Bukhari’s decision to leave the party as a wrong one and was seen seeking permission from Abdullah to meet Bukhari to ensure his return.
It is God’s grace he left the party. There is no need to go to him as we do not need such type of people, Abdullah said.
Abdullah referred to his interaction with Bukhari before his resignation and said when we talked against the Scheduled Tribe status to Pahari community. From (former prime minister) Indira Gandhi till date, we have been projecting the demand of the community. He (Bukhari) might have got some promise from him (Raina) to safeguard some personal interest.
Bukhari had on Sunday chaired a convention by the Pahari Tribe ST Forum here which saw over 350 delegates in attendance with Raina as the chief guest.
“I had stated that we will not hesitate in supporting any party which will help the community in achieving its long-standing demand of Scheduled Tribe status (for Pahari community). The remarks had not gone down well with the National Conference leadership and I was asked for an explanation,” Bukhari had told PTI.
Bukhari said he met NC president Abdullah at his residence and had a “heated argument” with him over the issue. “I walked out and submitted my resignation from the basic membership of the party.”
Meanwhile, nearly two dozen prominent Pahari leaders of National Conference said the party has been strongly pleading for the grant of Scheduled Tribe status to Pahari speaking people without disturbing the reservation already granted to other communities.
The leaders recalled the recommendation made to the Centre in this regard by Omar Abdullah in his capacity as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister in April 2014.
In a joint statement issued from party headquarters here, the 22 Pahari leaders said National Conference has been custodian of interests of all the segments of the society and it was in this context that five per cent reservation in the professional and technical colleges had been granted by the Omar Abdullah led government to the students belonging to Pahari speaking communities.
The Pahari leaders also recalled the assurance held out by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her public meeting at Rajouri in March 1983 that if the State Government recommended, the Centre would grant the ST status to these communities.
They said the then State Government led by Abdullah sent a strong recommendation for the grant of ST status to Pahari speaking people as also the Gujjars and Bakerwals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Subsequently, the issue was raised by Abdullah and Omar in their capacities as Chief Ministers with the successive Prime Minister’s Rajiv Gandhi, V P Singh, Chander Shekhar, I K Gujral, Deve Gowda, P V Narsimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, they said adding that the issue has been taken up with the present dispensation as well.
The leaders said that the National Conference will ensure that the interests of any community are not harmed and it was with this intent the recommendation had been made for the grant of ST status to Pahari Speaking People in a way that it does not clash with the interests of other segments of society already brought under the reserved categories of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe.
Press Trust of India
