Bringing more trouble for BJP ahead of the 72 hour bandh call by AIIMS coordination committee beginning on July 31, lawyers in Jammu took out "lalkaar rally". The Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party too threatened to launch jail bharo andolan to press the demand for setting up of AIIMS in Jammu. Giving deatils about the jail bharo programme, the JKNPP president Balwant Mankotia said that it will begin at Reasi on July 27, followed by Jammu (July 28), Kathua (July 29), Ramban (July 31), Udhampur (August 1), Samba (August 2), Poonch (August 4) and Doda (August 6). Mankotia also said that the saffron party has made a "treacherous mockery" of the aspirations of the people of Jammu by announcing the decision to shift AIIMS to Valley. [related-post] Meanwhile, led by Abhinav Sharma, president of the Jammu Bar Association who also happens to be the chairperson of AIIMS coordination committee, the lawyers riding on two wheelers and cars started their rally from the courts’ complex at Janipura and after passing through B.C. Road reached the Tawi bridge near Dogra Chowk where they blocked vehicular traffic for nearly half an hour before joining people sitting on hunger strike. Enroute, sources said that they brought down posters of Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh at two-three places in protest against his failure to keep his written commitment of getting formal orders from Centre for setting up of AIIMS in Jammu by July 20. Following written assurance from Singh about a formal announcement from Centre about the setting up of AIIMS at Jammu within a month, the AIIMS coordination committee had called out its three day bandh. However, after the expiry of its July 20 deadline, the Deputy Chief Minister sought more time in the matter saying that a formal announcement could not be made in view of preoccupation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The coordination committee this time declined Singh’s request and resumed its agitation. To garner support for its 72 hour long bandh call beginning July 31, it has decided to take out a candle light procession in Jammu on Monday. The lawyers in the state high court and subordinate courts here have already suspended work for a week beginning from Friday. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech had announce setting up of an AIIMS in Jammu region, but the PDP-BJP government got it shifted to the Valley, said Rakesh Gupta, president Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We have no objection to the opening of ten AIIMS in the Valley, but the one allotted to Jammu shall not be shifted there," he added. However, according to PDP, as per the Agenda of Alliance finalized between it and the BJP before government formation in the state, AIIMS has been given to the Valley, while IIT and IIM will be set up in Jammu.
