JK Dy CM assures help to West Pakistan refugees in ration list

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today said he has taken up the matter of alleged deletion of names of West Pakistan refugees from ration card beneficiaries' list issued by the state Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department.
"I have conveyed a meeting of top officials including officers of CAPD department to resolve the issue. The matter will be resolved soon," he said.
"The settlement of the long pending issue of WP refugees is the prime concern of the party. We will continue to fight against any injustice done to them," he said.
Singh said the affected families can approach Deputy Commissioner, Jammu for re-inclusion of their names in the ration card lists, adding that they can also contact the BJP's grievance cells in case of any difficulty.

A row had erupted after the refugee community of Uttam colony alleged that officers of CAPD department refused to incorporate the names of refugee families in the beneficiaries' lists from this month, on the ground that they did not possess Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs).
The community also held a demonstration here.

Around 3,00,000 West Pakistani refugees, who are not considered state subjects despite living in the Valley for over 70 years, have been denied basic rightslike the right to vote in Assembly elections, employment, education, ownership of property and political participation.
They had shifted to Jammu region after migration from WestPakistan in 1947.

"If the Jammu and Kashmir government does not want to provide us ration, the Government of India should take a call andprovide us all such relief, as we are Indiancitizens wronged by the J&K government," Labha Ram Gandhi, a refugee leader, said.
He warned that they would come on the streets again if the matter was not resolved at the earliest.