The decision taken by the government to appoint Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) for Koteranka was politically motivated and meant to please a particular vote bank segment alleged Bharatiya Janata Party in a press release issued from the party office. According to Brig Anil Gupta, State Spokesperson, “There was no justification in appointing an ADC to be seated at Koteranka, which became a tehsil in 2014 and is a newly created sub-division of Rajouri District and forms part of Darhal Constituency neglecting the claim of Nowshera, a Tehsil since 1947, which was promised a district status comprising of two constituencies based on the three Sub-divisions of Sunderbani, Nowshera & Kalakote. As per the latest notification of the government Kalakote, an assembly constituency, has been clubbed with Kotranka for rotational ADC, which happens to be part of Darhal constituency. It defies logic. ”There must be certain norms that dictate whether a particular area qualifies for establishing the office of ADC. Arbitrary decisions brew resentment and are against the concept of good governance said Brig Gupta.
The anger of the people of Nowshera is justified because they feel cheated for narrow political gains at their expense. While Kotranka was nowhere in contention, it was given preference over Nowshera, which has become the bone of contention and root cause of the agitation. There is no end in sight and a prolonged agitation in the border belt is a big security risk as well said Brigadier Gupta. The government has appointed a six-member delegation of officials to meet the agitators in order to find an amicable solution. The solution lies in cancelling the arbitrary appointment of ADC Kotranka and acceding to the demand of people of Nowshera and Kalakote asserted the press release.
