women's Bill

April 23,2004

FACTORS AT PLAY
Daughters' Bill major concern
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Kathua, April 22
The daughters' Bill seeking to deny property rights to women marrying outsiders and the decision of the Congress supported PDP-led coalition government to withdraw the sales tax exemption to soldiers on the canteen items are the crucial factors for the electorate in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency.

The Vajpayee factor in certain areas will benefit the BJP candidate and Minister of State for Defence, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, but the firebrand Lal Singh, Health Minister and Congress nominee, has certainly made a dent in the constituency.

Mr Bhim Singh, Chairman of the Panthers Party that is a partner in the coalition, is campaigning against the Congress and BJP. Fears are being expressed that he might turn out to be a spoilsport for Mr Lal Singh as both of them belong to the Rajput community. However, Mr Lal Singh enjoys the support of other communities too because of his firm handling of the Health Department.

A coal kiln labourer, Kesho Ram, on the Jammu-Pathankot highway curses the Mufti-led government for having brought the daughters' Bill that denies state subject rights to women marrying outside J&K.

He says that many girls, particularly from Kathua, including his two sisters, were married in the neighbouring Pathankot and Gurdaspur towns of Punjab. The Bill passed by the Assembly within six minutes had sealed their fate. The illiterate labourer is aware of the developments and the manner in which the Congress and the Panthers Party have supported the Bill.

Former soldiers, Dhian Singh, Ralia Ram and Humum Chand, are critical of the J&K Government for withdrawing in a phased manner the sales tax exemption that the defence personnel were provided throughout the country. They have taken the decision as an insult to the soldiers who are fighting terrorism in the state.

Dhian Singh says such decisions of the government smell foul as the privileges of the soldiers are being withdrawn by the coalition government that is showering cash incentives on terrorists who were involved in the killings of innocent men,women and children.

The Udhampur constituency sprawling over the districts of Kathua, Udhampur and Doda has at least one soldier from almost every household and the decision of the state government is being taken as an insult on them. They point out that the Congress that claims to be a representative of Jammu, should not have supported such decisions of the government.

With many areas of Kathua district being on the Indo-Pakistan border, the issue of the failure of the Central Government to provide relief to the border residents who had migrated to safer places during the build-up of military on both sides about four years ago was also an important factor.

It is being alleged that while the Central and the state governments were worried only about the Kashmiri Pandits who had migrated from the valley, the border migrants of Jammu had been neglected.

The Congress campaigners are claiming that the state government had sent a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for the border migrants to the Centre, but no response has so far come on it.

The failure of the successive governments to supply tap water in hundreds of villages in the Kandi areas of Kathua and Udhampur is worrying the women in particular as they have to carry water pitchers on their heads from distant sources. The denial of a degree college at Billawar in Kathua district has also become a poll issue.

Completion of work on the 53-km long Jammu-Udhampur rail line by the NDA government is being projected as an achievement of the BJP. The construction of the road between Basohli in Kathua and Bhaderwah in Doda district by the Army has also come as a credit for Mr Gupta.