I will not accept sermons from Army: Bukhari retaliates Rawat

Remark inappropriate, will compound alienation, uncertainty: Tarigami

JAMMU: Taking strong exception to Army chief General Bipin Rawat's remark of J&K government schools spreading a 'disinformation campaign', leading to radicalization of youth, the state government on Saturday asserted that the Army's "meddling" in the state's affairs was unacceptable.
"Everyone has his own domain. Those who have no link to education are talking about it. It is not a fair comment and we do not accept it," Bukhari said.
Asserting that the state's students and teachers were very efficient, and 'some have topped the IAS exam', Bukhari said while the state's education system may have shortcomings, there was no need for sermons about it from the Army.
"I do not know what the Army chief has said or how he said it, but what I know is that our children are not going towards radicalisation," Minister for Education Syed Altaf Bukhari told reporters in Summer Capital Srinagar.
"Those people who are not concerned with education tell us whether there should be one map or two maps in the schools. This is unacceptable," said Bukhari. "This is a state subject. I do not think I will take any sermon from anybody. I have a boss, who is the chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti). If she finds any fault in the education system, we will do (address) it. She is the only one from whom we will take sermon," Bukhari said.
He said the Army should rather concentrate on its own job.
"Let him (Army chief) do his own job, I am doing mine and if the borders are protected, the incidents of violence will come down... perhaps they are not doing their job properly because of which we are suffering," he said.
The minister said India is a democratic country and the Army cannot have a control over everything.
"Perhaps he (Army chief) knows it and I know it very well," he said.
On Friday, while addressing a press conference, Rawat had said that each classroom in government schools in Jammu and Kashmir has a separate map of the state besides that of India which sowed the seeds of thought of some kind of "separate identity" among the children.
He had also batted for the major revamping of the education sector of the state and exercising some control over mosques and madrasas here.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader AND ,MLA Kulgam M Y Tarigami also termed Army Chief's remark as "inappropriate".
"The deep rooted and the massive alienation resulting in unprecedented unrest is in reality the outcome of the process of erosion of special status of J-K," Kulgam MLA Tarigami said in a statement here.
"What General Rawat has said will only compound the alienation and uncertainty in the state. His remark is inappropriate," he said
Expressing surprise over Rawat's statement, Tarigami said there are two flags because J-K has its own constitution owing to the state's special status.
"J-K acceded to India under the guarantees provided by the Constitution under Article 370. This is because that Kashmir has unique history, ethos and identity," he said.
"Eroding the state's special position is the reason for rise of uncertainty in J-K and also gives an opportunity to others to fish in the troubled waters," the CPI (M) leader said.