Central BJP leaders promise to address concerns of West Pakistan refugees

JAMMU: Even as the state unit of BJP has maintained a “guarded” silence over the state government’s blunt refusal to grant citizenship to West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs), the Central leadership of the party has emphasised on the need for solving issues related to livelihood, jobs and education of this displaced community.

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 26

Even as the state unit of BJP has maintained a “guarded” silence over the state government’s blunt refusal to grant citizenship to West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs), the Central leadership of the party has emphasised on the need for solving issues related to livelihood, jobs and education of this displaced community.

Despite the Assembly’s rejection of this demand, BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna, who is in charge of the party in J&K, said that there was no question of changing stand on this issue. “We are committed to grant of citizenship to refugees because this issue is on the top of party’s agenda”, Khanna told The Tribune and reiterated that BJP would continue its effort in this regard. He said that issue would be discussed with the state unit to devise strategy to solve problems of the WPRs. “We will sit together and examine statement of the coalition government in the Assembly on these refugees”, said Khanna.

Union minister Jitendra Singh, on the other hand, said that some provisions must be made to ensure livelihood, jobs and education for these refugees.

“Short of citizenship other immediate issues related to these refugees must be solved. A provision should be made to ensure that children of refugees would get admission in educational institutions,” Jitendra Singh, who is Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Doda seat, told The Tribune, adding, “Deliberations be held later on the issue of citizenship of these refugees”.

A high-level meeting was held in New Delhi under the leadership of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in which the issue was discussed. Jitendra Singh was also present in the meeting which was held a day after the Assembly rejected citizenship for these refugees.

Due to denial of citizenship to them, children of WPRs are debarred from taking admission in higher educational institutions and from technical education. Furthermore, they are deprived taking benefits of state and Centre-sponsored job-oriented schemes, like MNREGA, because they do not have Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs).

On Wednesday, the state government made it clear in the Legislative Assembly that there was no plan to grant citizenship of these refugees.

“As many as 5,764 West Pak refugee families have settled in Jammu and Kashmir. They came from the area which later became West Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947,” J&K’s Revenue Minister Syed Basharat Bukhari had informed Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

The minister said the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state had no plan to grant permanent resident status to WPRs because they are not permanent residents of J&K.

He informed the lawmakers that no West Pakistan refugee had been appointed in any government department of the state.

“West Pakistani refugees are not considered for appointment against any state government post because they are not permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir,” the minister said.

Leader of WPRs, Labha Ram Gandhi said, “We were very much aware that Kashmir-centric parties like PDP and NC will never allow solution of our human issues. We too have pinned our hopes on Central leadership of BJP.”