Jammu, June 10: Senior Congress leader and DDC Suchetgarh member, Taranjit Singh Tony, has strongly condemned the attempt by administrative officials to register a fake case of illegal mining in a community pond at Brahmana Da Mohalla in the Chatta area of Jammu. He alleged that the action is being taken under pressure from BJP leaders to harass the local population.
In a sharp statement, Tony said that the Mandir Committee and Masjid Committee of the area had, in keeping with a long-standing tradition, jointly cleaned the pond as a community initiative before the monsoon, something that has been carried out annually for years. “The Hindu and Muslim communities in the area have always lived in harmony and have been jointly maintaining the pond as a shared resource. Their unity and collective spirit are admirable, but sadly, it seems this unity has not gone down well with some BJP leaders,” Tony remarked.
He further highlighted that both communities organised separate langars at the Mandir and the Dargah, which were then served together at a common venue—a true symbol of Jammu’s composite culture. However, Tony said that some unscrupulous elements, with vested interests, deliberately misinformed BJP leaders about the cleaning of the pond, prompting them to involve the civil administration unnecessarily.
“Instead of appreciating the communal harmony and voluntary service of the residents, the civil and police administration have started harassing the locals and are threatening them with an FIR for so-called illegal mining—an allegation that is totally baseless and impractical,” he said.
Tony warned the administration against becoming tools of political vendetta and asked them to stop misusing power to please their political bosses. “Such acts only vitiate the atmosphere and expose the BJP’s inability to tolerate unity among communities. The people of Jammu will not accept this injustice,” Tony added.
He also spoke with DC Jammu, SDM South Manu Hans, SP South, DySP Sehzan Bhat and Tehsildar Bahu Raju Sambyal, urging them to take reaffirmative action regarding this sensitive issue.
The DC has assured that the matter will be looked into seriously and appropriate steps will be taken to ensure justice and maintain communal harmony in the area.