J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Divided Cong may miss punch in J&K
Jammu, November 23
Though a majority of office-bearers of the PCC in Jammu and Kashmir have signed a joint resignation letter, they have, at the same time, announced that they would remain with the Congress and never cooperate with the PCC chief, Mr Mohammad Shafi Qureshi. A senior dissident leader said, “We have resigned from the PCC posts and not from the party.”

Workshop for teachers opened
Kathua, November 23
A three-day workshop on empowerment of teachers for quality education, started in the Vivekananda College of Education here today for Principals and teachers of selected schools and students of Education.

• Powder packs cause scare

Divided Cong may miss punch in J&K
M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 23
Though a majority of office-bearers of the PCC in Jammu and Kashmir have signed a joint resignation letter, they have, at the same time, announced that they would remain with the Congress and never cooperate with the PCC chief, Mr Mohammad Shafi Qureshi. A senior dissident leader said, “We have resigned from the PCC posts and not from the party.”

A team of senior dissident leaders, including Chaudhary Mohammad Aslam, Mr Taj Mohiuddin, Peerzada Mohammad Syed and Mr Mangat Ram, is visiting Delhi on the invitation of senior AICC leaders where they would press for the removal of Mr Qureshi.

The dissidents had launched a campaign against Mr Qureshi. They even rejected a peace formula under which a senior dissident leader would be installed as working president. They also turned down a proposal under which the party will have two provincial presidents, one for the Jammu and the other for the Kashmir region, and they would work under overall leadership of Mr Qureshi.

The dissidents had also planned to float a parallel party, but after intervention of Mr Mangat Ram Sharma the idea was dropped.

Since the destiny of the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir was linked with its performance during the next Assembly poll, the dissidents now are determined to force the AICC leadership to allot party ticket to majority of the dissidents who had better chances of winning than those who are loyal to Mr Qureshi.

Many supporters of the Congress in Jammu feel perturbed over the tussle between the dissidents and the loyalists on the plea that this state of affairs would not allow the party candidates to measure swords either with the National Conference or the PDP.

The state unit of the Congress may not even pose any serious threat to the BJP in the Jammu region despite the fact that this organisation too is plagued by internal dissensions.

Reports said of late AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, too has sided with the dissidents running the party show. If his writ again failed to persuade Ms Sonia Gandhi, Mr Qureshi would continue to head the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir.

Workshop for teachers opened
Our Correspondent

Kathua, November 23
A three-day workshop on empowerment of teachers for quality education, started in the Vivekananda College of Education here today for Principals and teachers of selected schools and students of Education.

The chief guest, Dr (Prof) Mulk Raj Chilana, Director, Global Institute for Quality Education and Rewarding Lie, former Professor of Education, National Council for Educational Research and Training and Educational Adviser, to the Union Government said teachers were the real agents in bringing quality education in schools.

Dr Chilana emphasised that this require both long term and short-term planning.

But he felt that the key to achieve this goal was continuous professional growth of the teachers.

Dr Sudarshan Gupta, secretary of Vivekananda Society, appreciated Professor Chilana’s initiative to guide the institution.

Prof Sardar Singh, Principal of the college, proposed the vote of thanks. Students presented a short cultural programme.

Powder packs cause scare

Jammu, November 23
Four packets containing some suspicious powder were detected at the railway mail sorting office here today causing panic among employees, Postal Department sources said. The packets, detected while sifting mail, were sealed and would be sent for laboratory tests to ascertain whether the powder contained anthrax spores. PTI