On March 14 soon after FM Nirmala Sitharaman presented the J&K Budget in Parliament, NCP MLA Supriya Sule questioned how the centre had “not kept” any provisions for Kashmiri Pandits in the budget.
Sule in her speech in Lok Sabha said the budget had “nothing” for Kashmiri pandits and was “worrisome” as it kept repeating the same things that have been said in the last several years.
Interestingly, while replying to MoS PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, who too is from J&K, Sule raised the issue of DPS Srinagar as she was responding to Singh’s claims that the government “wanted to do so much for Kashmiri Pandits”.
“I did not want to make this an issue of pandits or locals. I met Mr Dhar, whose family happens to be Kashmir Pandits. He runs Delhi Public School Srinagar which has 5,000 children enrolled in it. Throughout the challenging times, one family did not leave, fought, survived, and ran a school with no government support. It was this Dhar family. They had attacks, they run their own buses, and today what is this government doing to them, sending notices after notices. They are questioning who their teachers are, sending them notices on fee structure, whether it is run efficiently. So is this how you are helping Kashmiri pandits who stuck it out with you,” she said during her speech in Lok Sabha.
Sule then said that the budget document had no mention of Kashmiri pandits or specific intervention done for refugees who left during the insurgency.
“Agar itna acha hota na to wahan ke shawl wale Kashmir to Kanyakumari bhatakte nahi rehtay jaise aaj bhatakte hai (if it was so good there, Kashmiri shawl makers would not have been wandering from Kashmir to Kanyakumari like they are).
“This budget is very very worrisome. In the power sector, the same projects and numbers have been repeated…The word used is ‘likely investment’ in these projects. What does ‘likely’ investment mean? Whatever little English I know, ‘likely’ means it may happen. Last six years we are hearing the same,” she said.
Sule continued: “It says they are importing around 200 elite crossbred imported Marino sheep to be introduced for genetic up-gradation of local sheep for production. I mean when all these years, Jammu Kashmir has done so well. I see no reason for this. It makes no sense. And other times you talk about ‘Be Indian’, Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, vocal for local etc.”