State BJP not keen on talks with groups seeking AIIMS for Jammu

JAMMU: The state unit of the BJP is reluctant in extending a formal invitation for talks to the Coordination Committee which is spearheading the stir against the shifting of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had offered dialogue with the groups agitating against the alleged move.

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 4

The state unit of the BJP is reluctant in extending a formal invitation for talks to the Coordination Committee which is spearheading the stir against the shifting of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had offered dialogue with the groups agitating against the alleged move.

There is a feeling among a group of BJP leaders that extending a formal invitation to the agitating groups at this juncture would legitimise representative character of another group in Jammu.

“We are ready to hold dialogue on the issue of shifting AIIMS to the Kashmir valley provided a formal invitation is extended to us,” said Abhinav Sharma, chairman of the AIIMS Coordination Committee, an amalgam of 70 social, religious and business organisations.

“Eight days have passed since Union Home Minister visited Jammu, but the BJP state unit has not taken any initiative to start a dialogue with the agitating groups,” said Sharma.

“The BJP leadership in J&K has become so arrogant that they are not ready to open a channel of communication with those agitating against the discrimination with the Jammu region,” he said.

Rajnath Singh during his visit to Jammu on May 27 had offered dialogue with the groups agitating against the shifting of AIIMS.

His visit to Jammu was marked with a complete bandh and Rajnath had admitted that it was a “serious issue” and had offered a dialogue with the agitating groups.

BJP ideologue Prof Hari Om, who is a member of the AIIMS Coordination Committee, attributed the present controversy surrounding AIIMS to the trust deficit between the people of Jammu and the BJP.

Sources said serious differences had emerged in the BJP over extending invitation to the AIIMS Coordination Committee. “Some leaders are of the view that party should open a channel of communication with the Coordination Committee, but a group is strongly opposing the move,” a source said.