Two prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference have expressed their desire to join the BJP on the condition that the central government grants Scheduled Tribe (ST)status to their Pahari community.
PDP district president Rajouri Tazeem Dar and senior National Conference leader Shafqat Mir gave the assurance to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting at Jammu.
The two leaders were part of a Pahari community delegation that called on the Home Minister shortly after his arrival on a three-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir.
During their interaction with the Home Minister as a delegation of Pahari-speaking people, both the leaders announced that they would join BJP after Union Government grants Scheduled Tribe status to Paharis.
As reported earlier, BJP is focussing on prominent Pahari Muslims of Poonch and Rajouri districts to make inroads in these two Muslim majority districts of Jammu province.
Keeping in view the deep ethnic divide among Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Paharies in this mountainous belt, BJP is now focussing on Pahari Muslims to further expand its base in this belt. Already a prominent Pahari face of Rajouri, Mohammad Iqbal Malik has joined the party and won the election as a DDC member on a BJP ticket.
BJP has supported ST status for Paharies - a community that is a dominant force in Poonch, Rajouri districts of Jammu province, and Baramulla and Kupwara districts in Kashmir Valley.
This community has been demanding ST status for decades. There are 9.6 lakh Pahari community people in J&K.
In February, prominent Pahari leader and former minister Mushtaq Bukhari, who was the face of the NC in the Poonch district, left the party over the issue. Although he has not joined the BJP yet, he is in touch with party leaders.
Representatives of Sikh, Gujjar-Bakerwals, and Rajputs call on Home Minister
Representatives of several other communities including Gujjars and Bakerwals, Sikhs, Dogra society, Yuva Rajput Sabha, and Amar Kshatriya Rajput Sabha also met Shah.
While the Pahari community is seeking a scheduled tribe status and enjoying the backing of local BJP leaders, Gujjars and Bakerwals have openly opposed any such favour to the community on the plea that they did not fit the criteria necessary for the grant of the status in accordance with the constitution.
The Gujjar and Bakerwal delegations appealed to the home minister to allay their apprehensions that the ST Status of the Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gadis, and Sippis shall not be diluted by including any other section of people in the category of Scheduled Tribe in the Union Territory.
