SRINAGAR, Apr 2: Showcasing peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today said there was no need for the United Nations Military Observers Group (UNMOGIP) office in Srinagar.
However, he hastened to add that the issue falls in the domain of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and they have to take a call on it.
Asked whether the UN office should be closed in Srinagar as the situation has improved and the issue now is not Jammu and Kashmir but Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Sinha said the issue is not in his domain and the External Affairs Ministry will be in a better position to respond to this.
“But there is no need (of the UN office now in Srinagar),’’ he said in an interview to Times Now.
LG Sinha said he has good relations with the Omar Abdullah-led government. “Before the elected Government, the agenda was peace, development, investments, and jobs. If the elected government also has a similar agenda, neither will we have any problem nor the Government will have,’’ the Lieutenant Governor said.
Asked to rate Omar Abdullah Government, Sinha said four months time is too less to make an opinion but he has good liaison with the Government.
He said under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, the powers of both (the Lieutenant Governor and the elected government) are clearly defined.
“They (the government) have their powers. We have our powers and rights. Together we can take Jammu and Kashmir further towards development. During the past five years, the economy of J&K has improved. The economy has doubled since 2017. Per Capita Income has also gone up. Jammu and Kashmir Bank incurred a Rs 1200 crore loss, but now it has earned Rs 1700 crore profit. There has been a good turnaround in five years,’’ Sinha said.
He said the train to Kashmir which is going to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will further boost development in Jammu and Kashmir and improve connectivity.
On the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley, Sinha said most of their issues have been addressed and they will return to their homes when there is peace in the Valley.
“Hopefully, we will see the day soon when Kashmiri Pandits will live in their homes in the Valley,’’ he added.
Rejecting the notion by certain politicians that peace has been “forced’’ in Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor said there would have been no shooting of movies by Bollywood and Hollywood had the peace been forced.
“There would have been no Muharram procession, cinema halls wouldn’t have been running, tourists wouldn’t have been coming in large numbers, and there would have been no industrial investments if there was no permanent peace,’’ he said.
Sinha said this is the Government of India’s policy to establish permanent peace in Jammu and Kashmir and there has been success to great extent during last five years. “Stone pelting has become a history. Business is running as usual. Educational institutions are functioning normally. Youth have aspirations like the country’’.
However, the LG said, when there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, the neighbor (a reference towards Pakistan) gets pain. “Peaceful Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in J&K, which were appreciated across the country and globally, haven’t gone well with the neighbor. No top commander of the terrorists is surviving, and there has been the lowest ever recruitment of local terrorists,” he said.
“People can be seen walking along the banks of the river Jhelum till late in the night. If people feel there is a normalcy, that’s good. For politicians, there can be political compulsions to give statements. People now want peace to persist. All this is possible because of the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the whole of Government approach,’’ Sinha said.
On opposition to termination of government employees, he said the process will go on after identification of employees and preparation of dossiers against them.