Jora glimmer of hope for scam ridden Congress

 

Srinagar, Feb 9: While in past five years at least seven Congress ministers have faced charges of corruption, irregularities and sexual misconduct in Jammu and Kashmir, Nawang Rigzin Jora is one among a few non-controversial ministers from the party.

Jora, who currently holds portfolios of Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies, is a Congress MLA from Leh constituency in cold desert Ladakh region. Before the present assignment, he was the Minister for Tourism and Culture for almost four years.

Jora, who is considered as among a few honest ministers in Omar Abdullah led government, also held important portfolios in previous PDP-Congress collation (2002-2008). While “gross wrongful conduct” by its ministers in J&K has embarrassed the party leadership both in New Delhi and the State, Jora has been the only hope for the party in Kashmir.

The Congress ministers have remained in controversies for their alleged role in various scams. One by one the party seems to be losing its ‘blue eyed’ candidates as most of the senior leaders have been getting embroiled in controversies or facing serious charges of misconduct.

When the Congress was about to celebrate creation of new administrative units which were created as per its wishes ‘political storm’ engulfed the party due to the allegation of molestation of a lady doctor by one of its senior ministers Shabir Ahmad Khan.

Prior to Khan’s misconduct, Congress image was also dented when senior ministers including Taj Mohi-ud Din, Perzada Muhammad Sayeed , GM Saroori, Tara Chand, Sham Lal Sharma, Raman Bhalla, RS Chib and Shabir Ahmad Khan came under the scanner for various  charges of corruption, irregularities and sexual misconduct.

Though most of them managed to survive the ‘political storm’ and got a clean chit, the stigma of committing malpractices has not left them untouched and may prove detrimental to the Congress party’s future in the state.

In 2010, Public Works Department Minister G M Saroori came into the news for alleged case of hiring an impersonator for his daughter to appear on her behalf at a medical entrance examination. A case was then registered under sections 419 and 420 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and 2/5 Prevention of Unfair Means Act was registered against the impersonators. However the minister was given a clean chit after CBI investigations.

In 2012 the then Education Minister and Congress leader Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed was divulged of his portfolio by the Chief Minister after the J&K Police Crime Branch indicted him on charges of helping his foster son to qualify 10th class exam in 2009 through unfair means and impersonation.

PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma in 2013 faced a massive public anger after Doctor’s Association of Kashmir unearthed spurious drug scam by revealing the names of 11 sub-standard medicines including injections supplied to various government hospitals in Kashmir.

Senior Congress leader and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohiuddin faced serious allegations of encroaching forest land in south Kashmir. The State Accountability Commission then slapped a contempt notice on Taj for making false statement that the Commission had closed his case and given him a clean chit.