Kashmiri migrants denied shops, parliamentary panel takes exception

NEW DELHI: Are Kashmiri Pandit migrants not Indians?

This was a question raised in a complaint from the migrant community which said they are not being provided shops in the tony locality of INA market in south Delhi on the pretext that Kashmiri migrants are not Indians.

A parliamentary panel report said "the pretext given that Kashmiri migrants are not Indians for not allocating shops in INA market is highly objectionable."

"The complaint may be looked into and action may be initiated against people involved in such blatant discrimination," the Action Taken Report on the report of Parliamentary Committee on rehabilitation of Jammu and Kashmir migrants said.

According to official data, as many as 59,442 Kashmiri Pandit families have been registered as migrants with 38,119 registered in Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi and 1,985 in the rest of the country.

As a rehabilitation procedure, the Kashmiri Pandits were given small shops which had to be later removed due to construction of roads.

"The Committee desires that action in regard to rehabilitation of displaced shopkeepers from the migrant community in INA market may be taken on a priority basis.

"People from the migrant community who have left their native places due to conditions beyond their control should not face undue delays in the allotment of stalls," the report said.