Date:02/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/02/stories/2009010255241000.htm

National

J&K: Gujjars demand Deputy Chief Minister post

Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR: Gujjar community in Jammu and Kashmir has urged the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to consider the veteran Gujjar leader Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

In a faxed message to Ms. Gandhi, J & K Gujjar Bakerwal Joint Forum, on behalf of several organisations has urged her to consider the demand on the basis of merit. Highlighting the fact that the Gujjar and Bakerwal community had been ignored for decades, the message said “it is the most opportune time to give them their right.”

“Gujjars constitute 40 per cent of the population in the State and it will be an injustice if Mr. Aslam ignored purely on the basis of the religion he belongs to,” it said.

The Gujjars have asked the Congress leadership not to fall into the trap of “communalising the situation and dividing the State on these lines.”

“This was done by right wing parties during Amarnath agitation and Congress should not follow suit,” said Mohammad Javaid, a Gujjar rights activist. “Mr. Aslam is the most suitable choice for the post and he is a well respected leader of the community” he said.

Chowdhary Aslam, a prominent Gujjar leader, was elected from the Surankot Assembly segment in the just concluded elections on Congress ticket. A six-time legislator of the Congress, he was till November this year a member of the Rajya Sabha. He has also been Speaker of State Assembly and functioned as minister in the previous National Conference-Congress coalition. Mr. Aslam also headed the PCC for many years.