The official revelation that that no record exists about National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as “Sher-i-Kashmir” has put the PDP-BJP alliance in tight spot, with the Opposition National Conference insisting that the government should come clean on it and confer the title without waiting further.Senior National Conference leader and Provincial President, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani said that the government should take a call and not wait for the NC to do it.“If Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is serious in acknowledging contributions of Sheikh Sahab to the state, then he should issue an order and confer the title officially,” Wani said, adding, “Why should the CM wait for NC to come to the power and do it?”The NC leader said the party suspects that General Administration Department has acted on behalf of the PDP-led government by not factually replying to the RTI.
In reply to a an RTI filed by a Jammu-based RTI activist, Deepak Sharma, with the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Governor’s Secretariat, the General Administration Department (GAD) of the government vide order No GAD/ RTI (Adm)/1553/2015 said it had no record suggesting that anyone in the State was “Sher-i-Kashmir”.Sharma had sought information as if the title of ‘Sher-i-Kashmir’ was conferred by the government to any person in Jammu Kashmir.
“The GAD has replied in a way which demeans the Sheikh Sahab. NC will dig into it whether GAD has factually replied to RTI or just on behalf of the PDP,” Wani said.He said the PDP-led government has to share the responsibility on it whether “it is deliberate attempt to demean NC founder and tallest leader of the state, and whether any such order exists with it”.
Besides known in public as “Sher-i-Kashmir”, many institutions and establishments in Jammu Kashmir like Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Sher-i-Kashmir Municipal Park, Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Sher-i-Kashmir Bhawan are named after the NC founder.JK Congress President GA Mir told KNS that the party will support such a proposal which confers the “Sher-i-Kashmir” title on Sheikh Abdullah.“Sheikh Sahab is undoubtedly the tallest leader of the state and his contribution to state is unforgettable. He should have been conferred the title earlier by his party National conference if none exists in the official records,” Mir told KNS.The Congress Chief said that the government should have “no difficulty” in conferring the official title to Sheikh Abdullah in the coming Assembly session.While PDP acknowledges Sheikh Abdullah as “Sher-i-Kashmir”, its partner BJP wants the issue to be discussed first before taking any decision. Minister for Education and Government spokesman Naeem Akhtar, though, did not say anything as to whether the PDP-led coalition Government will officially recognize Sheikh Abdullah as “Sher-i-Kashmir”.
But Akhtar said: “Sheikh Sahab is accepted and acknowledged as Sher-i-Kashmir by people in the state. I personally feel he should have been given the title officially.”“I am not able to say why Sheikh Sahab has not been officially given the title as yet because I have not got the exact details about it. I will have to look into it as what actually has happened that the title has not been officially conferred to Sheikh Sahab.”Asked whether NC is itself responsible for not officially giving title to its founder, Ahktar said he would not accuse anybody for not conferring the title.“And at the same time, squeezing a personality of the Sheikh Sahab’s stature in an official title is unjust. His contributions to state are enormous,” he said.However, PDP’s coalition partner preferred to remain tightlipped over the issue. Despite repeated attempts to BJP ministers, no one wished to talk on it.Though, a BJP minister, who wished not to be named, said that the party will discuss the issue before coming on record over it. (KNS)