Govt: No impact of note ban on violence in Valley

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 16

The Central Government’s claim of breaking the backbone of elements funding violence in the Kashmir valley after demonetisation has proved false as the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir has admitted that there are no such reports available with them.

With this statement, the J&K Government, of which the BJP is also a part, seems to be contradicting the statements of the BJP-led Union Government.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is also Home Minister, made this written statement in the Legislative Assembly in response to a question raised by BJP state president Sat Sharma. Sat Sharma is an MLA from the Jammu (West) constituency.

Sat Sharma had asked whether there were effects of demonetisation on the recent violence in the Valley and whether it was a fact that fake currency was used for generating violence. The Home Minister categorically said the government hadn’t received any such reports.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on November 14, 2016, had claimed that the incidents of stone-throwing in the Kashmir valley had diminished after demonetisation decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016. He had claimed that there were different rates for creating disturbance in the Valley. “Rs 500 note was given for stone-throwing and Rs 1,000 note for something else. The PM has brought the terror funding to zero,” Parrikar had said.

But the state government doesn’t think on similar lines and officially claimed that no such reports have been received so far.

While the demonetisation has no impact on the violence in the Kashmir valley, hawala funding continue to remain the main source of terror and violence funding in the state and the Home Minister also quoted the CID headquarters report to prove her point.

Since 2001, 173 hawala cases have been registered in the state, in which challans have been produced in court in 90 cases.