People have lost faith in NC: Paswan

Says his stand regarding mass graves hasn’t changed

Srinagar: Stating that people of Jammu and Kashmir have lost the faith in National Conference government, LJP president and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan Monday said that though his party is part of BJP government at centre but they might contest the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls independently.

Addressing a press conference here, the LJP President and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir want a change in the governance as they have lost the faith in the Ruling National conference.

“I came here and discussed the deliberations with the party caders here and most of the party leaders suggested that we should fight the Assembly elections here. The party’s parliamentary board which will meet on Monday evening would hold deliberations and will take a final decision on the matter,” he said.

Paswan said that party’s alliance with BJP was at the Centre and not at the state-level. “Even when we were with Congress (as part of the UPA), LJP had fought state elections on its own. Wherever possible, we fight together. We are fighting together in Jharkhand, but as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, our party has talks with BJP top leaders over the matter,” he said.

The Union Minister said that the party cadres of Jammu and Kashmir want national youth president Sanjay Saraf to fight from Habbakadal.  “I am taking a report from here and the parliamentary board will decide over the future course of action,” he said.

Asked about the stand which he was had regarding mass graves in the Manmohan Singh government he said, “I have not change my stand any way. See I have not changed my stand about the issue but the fact of the matter is that I have been assigned a different ministry.”

Paswan, as Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Steel in the Manmohan Singh government had demanded the release of juveniles languishing in the jails of Jammu and Kashmir on humanitarian grounds. He had also said, “The people of the Jammu and Kashmir complain that a large number of people have gone missing in the valley over the years and a large number of unaccounted graveyards containing mass graves of unidentified people in Uri, Rajouri which needs to be investigated.”

Replying to a question about the Centre not supplying food grains to the state based on the 2001 Census, the Union minister said the state government should implement the Food Security Act and then the ration would be given according to the 2011 Census.

“The previous government had enacted Food Security Act and we too are implementing that. We have told the states to implement the act and once it is implemented, then automatically the 2011 census would come into play. We have extended the time for its implementation to six months. Till now only 11 states have implemented the act but Jammu and Kashmir is not among them,” he said. (KNS)

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