WHILE participating in the discussion on the chief minister’s grants in the Jammu & Kashmir legislative assembly on Saturday, February 22, CPI(M) MLA, Mohd Yousuf Tarigami criticised the state and central governments for taking the state legislature for granted and ignoring even its unanimous resolutions, which is sending dangerous signals across the state.   In this connection, Tarigami referred to the resolution of the state assembly regarding autonomy and also to the unanimous resolution for investigation into a retired general’s serious allegations and revelations. By not taking the democratic institutions in the state seriously, the centre has virtually undermined the will of the people.  He said while he is personally committed that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Areas Act should be withdrawn at the earliest, the government could start with withdrawing the AFSPA gradually or remove its harsh provisions. Tarigami asked the chief minister that in his capacity as the chairman of the Unified Command, he could withdraw the Disturbed Areas Act and pave the way for the final withdrawal of the AFSPA.  He wanted to know whether the state cabinet has submitted a written proposal to the centre to urge it to withdraw the AFSPA. Tarigami also highlighted the closure of the Pathribal fake encounter case. He said such eyewashes would only result in more and more alienation and disillusionment. He termed the pretext that action against the erring army personnel would demoralise the forces as untenable, as it ignores the demoralisation and injustice meted out to the innocent and un-involved citizens in the state. Referring to the hanging of Afzal Guru, Tarigami said that while the government of India considered the resolution of the Tamilnadu assembly, demanding amnesty to the killers of Rajiv Gandhi, he was not sure “whether  the state chief minister was taken into confidence or not” in the case of Afzal Guru. As for the rehabilitation policy for the youth who had crossed the line of control (LoC), Tarigami alleged that it is so complex that it has not yielded any tangible results. He said that the youth who return without arms should be allowed to cross over to this side from any suitable point along the LoC and should be encouraged to lead a normal life. The released militants should be rehabilitated and, on demand, they should be issued passports and treated at par with other citizens. Tarigami also demanded extension of all the facilities under the prime minister’s rehabilitation package to Kashmiri migrants, so that they could return to their homes and live a dignified life. Half-hearted and delayed implementation of this package will only encourage the vested interests and will sabotage the entire scheme itself, Tarigami said. The CPI(M) leader also highlighted the problems faced by the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities and said that the funds earmarked for the development of these communities under the tribal sub-plan are not being released in time, resulting in the non-implementation of the developmental schemes formed for the upliftment of these backward groups. Quoting from an official document, he said that Rs 50 fifty crore were kept for the tribal sub-plan in the budget for 2013-14 but nothing had been released to date.  Tarigami also raised the issue of employees, including the police personnel, and said that the pay anomalies should be removed and that the pending wages of daily wagers, need based and other casuals should be released on priority. The ration money for the police personnel must be at par with that for the security forces and must also be granted at the earliest.  Commenting on the power crisis, the CPI(M) MLA pinpointed the failures of the power department and suggested an improvement in the transmission and distribution system. Referring to unemployment, he expressed his deep concern on its alarming increase and suggested that the recruitment process by the concerned government agencies should be made fully transparent by videographing the viva voce and interviews.