After the Union government’s go-ahead to the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jammu along with one in the Valley, pro-Kashmir leaders have started claiming discrimination as other national-level institutes have not been sanctioned for the Valley.
CPM Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami has said not establishing institutes like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Kashmir will be an act of discrimination against the Valley.
He has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded the establishment of these institutes in the Valley like in the Jammu region. He has said this in the backdrop of an announcement of two AIIMS institutes in the state. He has welcomed this announcement and said it will give a boost to existing healthcare infrastructure in the state. But now, he wants an IIT, IIM and IIMC in the Kashmir valley as well.
In his letter to Modi, Tarigami wrote, “We welcome the establishment of an AIIMS in Jammu and another in the Kashmir valley. This will surely give a boost to existing healthcare infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. In order to ensure equitable progress in the state, there is a dire need for the establishment of an IIT, IIM and IIMC in the Kashmir valley as well.”
The CPM MLA has raised this demand in the name of equitable progress, which is surely going to receive the maximum attention from other pro-Kashmir parties. “It is important not only to dispel the perception of discrimination, but to facilitate smooth industrial growth as well by producing highly qualified technical and managerial personnel and the requisite research and development environment in the state,” he wrote.
CPM legislator demands IIT, IIM & IIMC for Valley
