HT Correspondent

letters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Bhupesh Baghel, both from the Congress, on Saturday opposed a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) that the government has proposed to identify and deport illegal immigrants.

In a freewheeling session at the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Singh and Baghel also spoke on a range of other issues, including the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) that aims to fast-track Indian citizenship for religious minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the difficulties their governments confronted because of delays in compensation for a revenue shortfall from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Baghel, who led the Congress’s December 2018 comeback in Chhattisgarh after it lost three consecutive state assembly elections in the state, said that he is opposed to the NRC, and the exercise does not apply to his state.

Union home minister Amit Shah said in the Rajya Sabha in November that the NRC will be created for all regions in India, expanding an exercise that was recently carried out in Assam and led to the identification of 1.9 million people who face the risk of being labelled illegal immigrants.

“The NRC is a problem of border states, not of all states. This is being raised to deflect attention from main issues that the people are facing,” Baghel said.

Singh, who led the Congress to an election victory in Punjab in the 2017 assembly elections, and ensured that the national party won eight of the 13 seats in the state during the Lok Sabha elections this year, said he found the whole issue “strange” and that no one could ask any person to leave the country through such a unilateral decision.

“You have army men who have served the country for years, and then suddenly you say they are not Indians. You cannot just ask people to leave the country and take such a unilateral decision. I’m strongly opposed to this,” he said.

In the final NRC in Assam published on August 31, some members of the armed forces were among those excluded from the list.

While some states with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments, including Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, have said that they would allow the creation of an NRC, Singh said that in Punjab, where his party has a two-thirds majority, the exercise will not take place.

Remarking on the CAB, which the Union cabinet cleared last week for tabling in the Parliament, Singh said, “There are many people of our state who are living or have been born abroad, and if they wish to come home, they are welcome. This is a free country. Why are we asking people [who have lived here] to leave? What if Bangladesh says that they don’t want them? What will you do?”

Baghel said that there was an atmosphere of fear among sections of the people, which needs to be removed.

“There is no space for fear in Indian tradition. All sections are feeling insecure. Reporters, doctors, industrialists — which section is not afraid? I am afraid to speak out. We are told, don’t talk against the government. This atmosphere of fear has to end. The media should be free to report, industrialists should be independent… When the Anna Hazare agitation against corruption broke out, every television channel reported on it live. If such an agitation were to happen today, would channels report on it?,” he asked.

Both chief ministers reacted to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments at the HT Summit earlier on Saturday on the delay in compensating states for their revenue shortfall from the GST. She attributed this to a shortfall in the collection of cess charged to fund the compensation payment.

According to Singh, the finance minister did not understand what states were facing. “Our sources of revenue have been passed on to the GST, so it is the responsibility of the finance ministry [to pay us]. I have not received GST [compensation] since August, and I have had to borrow money to pay salaries. How can states function this way?”

Baghel said that in Chhattisgarh, which is more of an industry-heavy producer state, it is vital that money goes into the pockets of locals for it to reach the market and boost consumption. However, certain central policies were preventing that from happening, he added.

“In June 2014, the central government came out with a policy that if you give bonus to farmers then we won’t buy rice from you. We are not even asking for money [from the Centre], we only want permission to pay our farmers a bonus. When the money goes into the pocket of a consumer, it comes to the market. If they do not understand this aspect of economics, they should learn from [former Prime Minister] Manmohan Singh. We have also learnt from Manmohan Singh,” he said.

The Congress had, in its election manifesto in Chhattisgarh, promised to give a bonus to farmers for paddy procurement.

A clause in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Chhattisgarh and the central government says that if the state government declares the bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price fixed by the Centre, the latter would limit the procurement for central pool to the extent of the requirement of rice for Targeted Public Distribution System/Other Welfare Scheme allocations of that state.

The Centre informed Chhattisgarh in November that the central pool stock was already much above buffer norms.

Sitharaman had said at the HT Summit that the Centre was committed to paying states the 14% compensation. “We will honour compact, there is no question about it,” she said.

The chief ministers’ comments come at a time when India’s economy grew at 4.5% July-September quarter, the slowest pace since March 2013.

Singh also spoke of Delhi’s pollution levels and said that Punjab could not be blamed for high levels of particulate matter in the air, as there was no stubble burning taking place at the moment.

While the Air Quality Index in the city was in the “very poor” category on Saturday, farmers of Punjab have in the past been blamed because of their practice of stubble burning to clear their field for the next crop cycle. This has often been attributed as a cause for spiked levels of pollution in the National Capital Region, which faced several days last month when the AQI was in the “severe” category. “When I left Punjab, there were clear blue skies.. but in Delhi, the visibility was only 400m. Where is this smoke coming from?” Singh asked.

When asked about who the next Congress president would likely be, Singh demurred from naming anyone, though the senior party leader has spoken out before in favour of giving young leaders a chance to lead the party. He said that the decision was the Congress Working Committee’s to make. Baghel, however, had no qualms in stating that he believed that Rahul Gandhi should be the next president.

Gandhi resigned from the post following the party’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls, in which it won 52 seats out 542, and Sonia Gandhi became the interim president, after weeks of the party being without a chief. “He [Rahul Gandhi] is not afraid to speak his mind, and he also took responsibility for the party’s performance,” Baghel said.

Press Trust of India

letters@hindustant

Bhopal : One of the two men who stole loaded INSAS rifles from the Army cantonment in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh early Friday is a serving Army officer, a police officer said on Saturday night, adding that the duo have sneaked into neighbouring Maharashtra.

Earlier, it was believed that the duo posed as Army officers to commit the crime at the Army camp in Hoshangabad district.

In a major security breach, the two men had decamped with the rifles of sentries and ammunition in early hours of December 6, prompting police to issue a high alert. As per preliminary investigation, they spent nearly two hours at the cantonment where they misled the sentries into obeying their ‘orders’, according to another officer.

“According to our inputs, the location of the suspects was in Maharashtra some hours back. We don’t have the latest location now,” a high-ranking police officer privy to investigation said.

He said one of the duo who has been identified is a serving officer of the Army, while the identity of his accomplice is being established. “The Army officer has been absent from duty from an Army unit in Hoshiarpur in Punjab since October 14,” he said, adding that the runaway officer had undergone training at Pachmarhi for ten months.

The police officer, however, refused to explain how the two suspects managed to cross into Maharashtra at a time when a high alert was sounded in Madhya Pradesh.

Eleven years ago, Maharashtra’s capital Mumbai was attacked by fidayen terrorists from Pakistan.

According to sources in police, the duo had got down from the SUV at the cantonment in early Friday and ordered the sentry at the checkpost to summon other jawans for an assembly. They sent another sentry to call a JCO (Junior Commissioned Officer) from the camp.

While the two sentries rushed to obey the orders leaving the posts unguarded, the duo picked up their INSAS assault rifles loaded with magazines having 20 cartridges and fled, they said.

Dar Ovais

ovais.mushtaq@htlive.com

Chandigarh : The Panjab University on Tuesday withdrew its circular seeking self-attested affidavits from Kashmiristudents, testifying they were not involved in any unlawful activity during the clampdown in the Valley, following Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s intervention.

On Tuesday, Hindustan Times had reported that the office of the dean university instructions (DUI) had issued a circular, addressed to allheads of departments, that they should allow Kashmiri students short on attendance to sit for examinations.

But, the circular also sought self-attested affidavits from these students, declaring that they were not involved in any unlawful activities in the Valley during their absence.

Taking exception to the circular, Captain Amarinder sought from PU authorities the rational behind seeking affidavits from Kashmiri students. He also asked the varsity’s vice-chancellor Raj Kumar to withdraw it.

Terming the circular unjustified, he said Panjab University should not seek any special declaration from Kashmiri students. “Kashmir and Kashmiris are an integral part of India. @officialPU should not seek any special declaration from Kashmiri students and the affidavit request is completely unjustified. Have taken up this issue with the VC to withdraw it,” the CM wrote in his tweet.

The circular also invited criticism on social media. Salam Anees Soz, a political commentator and son of Kashmiri politician Saifuddin Soz, tweeted: “Dear @capt-amarinder ji: why is Panjab University treating Kashmiri students in this manner? I urge you to help stop the spread of prejudice in this eminent incident.”

The university authorities later announced that they had withdrawn the circular. “The circular seeking affidavit from Kashmiri students has been withdrawn and all Kashmiri students will be allowed to appear in the examinations,” said university’s official spokesperson.

The directions from the DUI’s office had come after the Punjab higher education department wrote to PU and other educational institutes to help Kashmiri students appear in examinations in the wake of communication blockade in the Valley.

Punjab and Chandigarh are the most-favoured by Kashmiri students to pursue highereducation.

While around 6,000 Kashmiri students study in three universities and 26 educational institutes in Mohali district, about 300 are enrolled in Panjab University and its affiliated colleges in Chandigarh.

(WITH AGENCY INPUTS)

Mir Ehsan

mir.ehsan@htlive.com

SRINAGAR : The first group of civilians successfully trekked to the world’s highest battlefield at Siachen Glacier and returned after a 21-day trip recently, taking adventure tourism to greater heights in the country. With defence minister Rajnath Singh giving the green signal to open Siachen to tourists, more civilians can look forward to heading for the icy heights in August 2020.

“Besides being fit to climb and trek in high altitude, the participant has to be an Indian citizen. Foreigners, not even Indians holding foreign passports, are eligible,” says Uma Sudhindra, who heads Go Magic Trail, the civilian adventure group, which organised the trip along with the National Adventure Foundation.

This was the first such trip to Siachen outsourced by the army to a civilian organisation. Sudhindra, who is from an army background, says the seven civilians who were part of the first trip saw how soldiers defend the frontiers under extreme conditions.

“Not many know what this terrain is all about. Being the highest battlefield in the world, it is a fantastic opportunity for people who are capable of climbing and reaching there,” she says.

“The next trip is going to happen by the middle of August next year. We will be announcing it on social media. We hope to take a bigger group next time,” she says, adding it’s subject to clearance from the army.

“This is a paid trip. We have to arrange everything from logistics to the food even camping equipment and trekking gear. This time, the expedition cost about Rs 85,000 plus GST which includes hotel expenses in Ladakh where we stayed for acclimatisation.”

Though the cost for next year’s trekking expedition is being worked out, Sudhindra says it could be higher.

A senior army officer posted in Jammu and Kashmir who has also served in Siachen says the army used to take civilians earlier. “The army used to provide special clothing and shoes and would take back the items once the adventurers returned to the starting point,” he says.

AUGUST TO OCTOBER WINDOW IS BEST TIME

Colonel Sunil Pokhriyal (retd), who has served in Siachen thrice, led the first civilian expedition. He described it a “smooth and wonderful experience”. “The civilians with us were not novices. They completed more than 120 km of trekking to the glacier without any problem,” he said.

They underwent acclimatisation at the snout of the glacier at an altitude of 12,300 feet. “After four days, we started the trip up to Kumar Post at 16,100 feet. From the base camp onward, the trekkers had to negotiate crevices and streams,” he said.

Major Kulwant Singh (retd), another army veteran, said, “The army only provided a liaisoning officer (LO) for radio communication and obtaining permissions and clearances.” Singh, who has served as the vice-principal of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, and the Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering, Darjeeling, says the best time to travel to the region for trekking is from August to October.

“This time, we began on September 21. Our members trekked from Camp 1 up to Kumar Post. In winter, the tour can’t be organised as temperatures go down to -35 to -40 degrees Celsius. The best time for this kind of activity is August,” he says.

Sudhindra says, “The expedition was announced on social media after the army gave permission for seven people to go up to Camp 4, Kumar Post. Each day, we used to cover more than 15km.” For permission to go the glacier, which was hitherto a no-go zone for civilians, Sudhindra says she liaisoned with the army’s adventure wing. “We work with them for permissions and clearances and initiate the process once the list of participants is finalised.”

Kalyan Das

kalyan.das@htlive.com

Dehradun : Pakistan has made terrorism as its state policy and despite losing four wars against India, it has not learnt its lessons and continuing its misadventures against us, said defence minister Rajnath Singh said here on Saturday.

He was addressing the Gentlemen Cadets (GC) at Passing out Parade (PoP) of Indian Military Academy (IMA) after inspecting the PoP as the chief guest.

“India has a hostile neighbour at its western front with Pakistan which has terrorism as its state policy. Because of that you (GCs) have to be prepared all the time to fight terrorism,” said Singh.

He said, “Our government has adopted a multi-front strategy against terrorism which is yielding results. However, we still need to be on alert because the Pakistani non-state actors involved in terrorism activities have become so powerful that the state actors have turned into mere puppets at their hands there.”

Continuing his attack, he said whole world knows that Osama Bin Laden, who planned the 9/11 attacks was found in Pakistan.

“History proves that India has never attacked any foreign country nor has ever interfered in their matters. But Pakistan always does that.”

Singh said, “The leaders of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) who planned the deadly 26/11 attacks in Mumbai are also sitting in Pakistan. The families of victims of that the attack would only get justice when they (LeT terrorists) will meet their end. They won’t be save themselves from India’s security apparatus for long.”

During his address, Singh also stated about the requirement of being vigilant at the northern and northeastern front against China.

“India has some territorial differences against China as the border between them is yet to be clearly demarcated. However our armed forces need to show both courage and wisdom at the Indo-China border which it has done in the past like in Doklam dispute where they showed extraordinary determination to avoid an armed conflict,” he said.

Addressing the GC who got commissioned as officers in Indian Army on Saturday, he also warned them about the “future challenges” apart from conventional war.

“There would be challenges like fake news, use of false identities to create doubt and confusion in the armed forces and hacking into critical infrastructure by enemy countries to access sensitive information which are all a step the act of terrorism. To fight these, you (GCs) should also gain expertise in cyber weaponry apart from conventional weaponry,” said Singh.

He assured the newly commissioned officers of standing alongside them whenever needed and said, “From now on the Defence ministry would take care of the well being of yours as well as your family members.”

“It is the matter of great pride for the families who have handed their son for the security of the country for which I am grateful to them.”

A total of 377 GCs, including 71 from friendly countries, passed out at the Passing out Parade.

Officer from Valley wants state youth to serve the nation

HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

Dehradun : Among the newly commissioned officer, there was a 24-year-old from Kashmir who stood out calm and composed brimming with a passion to serve the country.

A resident of Kashmir valley, Shahid Shah was accompanied by his parents and younger sister to the Passing out Parade.

Shah had joined the army at the age of 17 years and 6 months as a sepoy.

“It was my childhood dream to join the armed forces as my father was also in one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF),” said Shah.

He served as sepoy for two years before joining the Army Cadet College (ACC) in IMA, Dehradun.

Terming the day as a moment of pride Shah, who claimed to be the first officer in Indian Army from is town in Kashmir, said nothing can be great than getting a chance to serve the country.

“I can’t describe the feeling but would want the youths in my town to have the same feeling by joining the army to serve nation. I would be happy if they draw inspiration from me,” he said.

His father, Mohammed Shah, who served in different places of the country while being with the CAPF said, “I am proud of my son. He always wanted to become an officer in the army in which I always motivated,” he said.

First cadet from Sri Lanka in NDA passes from IMA

Kalyan Das

kalyan.das@htlive.com

Dehradun : It was a moment of immense pride for 25-year-old Udara Abesinghe from Sri Lanka who became the first one from his country to pass out from IMA in Dehradun after pursuing the initial training course from National Defence Academy (NDA). Hailing from Colombo, Udara was among the three Gentleman Cadets from Sri Lanka who passed out after the Passing out Parade on Saturday in IMA.

“I was the first one from my country to be selected in NDA. I faced difficulty in the initial stage as I couldn’t understand a word of Hindi,” he said. He, however, claimed that his classmates helped him a lot. HTC

Anupam Pateriya

letters@hindustantimes.com

Bhopal/Sagar : The army cantonment in Sagar, 186 km from Bhopal, and residents of around 12 villages in the same district have been locked in a dispute over water from the Chitora stop dam.

Matters have reached a stage where half a dozen army men have been deployed to guard the stop dam, the source of water for the cantonment as well as farmers from the villages. The army men are patrolling a 12-km stretch near the dam, preventing them from drawing water, allege the villagers. In the past fortnight, they add, the army has seized 14 electric water pumps and water pipes.

Chitora village sarpanch Vijendra Singh said: “This has caused problems for irrigating farmland. Every year, we irrigated our crops with the water from this dam but this year they (the army men) are even stopping the farmers from tapping water from canals connected to the dam.”

Army officials say the water body was designated to army by the Sagar municipal corporation in 1995. Sagar Army Headquarter Commandant, Colonnel Munish Gupta, said: “This is not the first time we have deployed a patrolling party. We are guarding our quota of water which was permitted by the Sagar municipal corporation.”

Sagar municipal corporation commissioner RP Ahirwar said, “It is true that we have permitted the army to draw water from Chitora stop dam but why are they stopping villagers from drawing extra water from canals? We will inquire in the matter.”

“Last summer, we faced a water shortage. So, this year we came up with a strict plan to guard the water. We have seized as many as 14 electric motor pumps from farmers,” Commander Gupta added. Vinod Thakur, a farmer of Barkheri village is one such farmer. “I was irrigating my land with an overflowing canal connected to the dam but the army patrol seized my motor and pipe. Now, I don’t know how to irrigate my 12 acres of land.”

The villagers claim the water body has traditionally irrigated their land. Farmer Jahar Singh said: “We have lodged a complaint with the district administration against the army.”

Deputy director of agriculture department, GD Nema, said, “This is an illogical step by army men as the district received 1717 mm rainfall this year, which is higher than average rainfall of 1124 mm and there is no fear of water crisis. If farmers don’t get water, it will affect the production of wheat.” Sagar district collector Preeti Maithil said the administration is “looking into the matter.”

HT Correspondent

letters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Bhupesh Baghel, both from the Congress, on Saturday opposed a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) that the central government has proposed to identify and deport illegal immigrants.

In a freewheeling session at the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Baghel said that he is opposed to the NRC, and the exercise does not apply to his state. He added: “There is no space for fear in Indian tradition. All sections are feeling insecure. Reporters, doctors, industrialists — which section is not afraid?”

Amarinder, on his part, said that he found the whole issue “strange” and that no one could ask any person to leave the country through such a unilateral decision. The two CMs also talked about the Goods and Services Tax.

full report on 12