Samiti set to hold talks with Central team in Jammu

Jammu, Aug 8 (UNI) Extending the Jammu Bandh call for another six days, the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (SAYSS), while reiterating its firm demand of land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has agreed to enter into a dialogue with the high-level Central team visiting Jammu tomorrow.

''It was unanimously decided to hold talks with the Central delegation led by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil,'' Leela Karan Sharma, Convenor, SAYSS said at a press conference here today.

''Sangharsh Samiti is ready to talk with the Central team provided they should come up with a concrete road map and a proposal to normalise the situation in Jammu,'' Mr Sharma added.

The SAYSS Convenor asserted that besides, some queries would also be tabled before the Central team including delayed approach by the Centre in dealing with the issue, inviting the Kashmir centric leaderships sans Samiti members in the all-party meet convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finally the restoration of land back to the Shrine Board.

However, B S Slathia, president Bar Association of Jammu, also condemned the deployment of troops by the Centre during the agitation which was a move to curb the movement and to suppress the voice of Jammu.

''Centre made all efforts to hold back the massive movement, but they however, failed to contain the uprising sentiments of people of Jammu,'' Mr Slathia said adding that, ''the deployment of troops in Jammu was on the directions of fundamentalists with an intention to create wedge between the nationalists and the Army.'' He also warned of stern action against some miscreants in the valley trying to threaten the Judges of the High Court performing their duties there and has appealed to the Chief Justice of India to intervene.

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