SRINAGAR, 21 May 2007 — As the achievements of the all-parties’ round table conference held here last week remain to be watched, the sharp differences of viewpoints expressed during the meet have further embittered relations between the ruling coalition partners in the state.
The all-parties meeting was convened by the chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, to arrive at a consensus with regard to the granting of citizenship rights to the refugees who poured into the state from neighboring Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1971.
In fact, the otherwise sworn political enemies, the ruling People’s Democratic Party and the National Conference joined hands to shoot down the proposals put forward by the Congress, the Panthers’ Party and others from the Jammu region.
Mangat Ram Sharma, the senior Congress leader and Cabinet minister, picked up the gauntlet with the PDP and NC leaders seeking resettlement rights for the refugees.
