Srinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Abdul Gani Kohli on Wednesday said he supports the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) minister Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali’s resentment against proposed eviction of Gujjar families from Samba.
“Both I and Zulfikar Sahab raised the issue in the cabinet why some people in the government embarrass the Gujjar families in Samba,” Kohli said. “I am against eviction of Gujjars. It is a humanitarian issue. Where will they go if they are evicted from there,” he said.
He said everyone should have ‘sympathy’ for the homeless Gujjars. “After I and Zulfikar Sahab raised the issue, the Chief Minister said there is a proposal for their rehabilitation. We want that they should be properly rehabilitated and a policy should be framed for Gujjars.”
When told that some BJP ministers want that Gujjars should be evicted from Samba to start work on construction of an all-India institute of medical sciences (AIIMS), he replied, “There should be no eviction till their proper rehabilitation is made. Leave party aside, I am the last person to remain silent on this humanitarian issue.”
The PDP minister Choudhary Zulfkar Ali on Tuesday staged a walkout from the cabinet meeting after he sparred with BJP ministers over proposed eviction of Gujjar families in Samba, Jammu.
“I don’t know why it (eviction drive) has started all of a sudden. It is a concern. I think the Minister is doing it at his own level. Neither our party (BJP) nor the Chief Minister will support any harassment to any community or a tribe,” Kohli said.
(With inputs from KNS)
