MT News Service
Jammu, January 19:
Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Tuesday claimed that Union Govt has failed to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, initiate meaningful and genuine democratic process in order to fill the political vacuum caused due to their wrong policies and programmes. He said Congress has made immense contribution towards nation building and sustaining peace, amity, harmony, democracy, progress and development of Jammu and Kashmir during most testing times. Not listening to political leadership and aggrieved people is the biggest setback to democratic polity apart from undermining their contribution who stood tall in most turbulent situations.
This was observed by former Minister while interacting with aggrieved people of Balicharana in Gandhi Nagar constituency. Prominent among those present on the occasion include Vijay Sharma Babbi, Manzoor Ahmed, Gulam Abas, Dr. Gulam Khadir, Zoor Ahmed, Madam Parvesh Sharma, Whali Khan, Ashwani Kumar, Molvi Ali Hussain, Dr. Shoqat Ali, Abdul Latif, Farooq Ahmed besides others.
He said we are committed to represent democratic ethos and its values sustained by Congress over decades by weathering storms during turbulent situations. The nation is seeking answers from PM Modi as to what was he able to achieve on the promises he made to people during his election campaign in 2014. No sooner anybody ask him about his achievement, he is tainted as antinational. Do people want to know where the 10 crore jobs are? People want to know what laurels was the Modi led government able to achieve on development front; people are feeling ditched. The incumbent BJP led central government is mute on its achievement, how could they enumerate any when there are none,” he said.
Bhalla while exuding confidence in the workers and party functionaries said, “Every worker irrespective of his denomination is important to us, it is he who strives for the party on grassroots. If we want to save the identity and integrity of J&K, we have to make the party’s regional units dynamic. Ours is the only party that is the representative of the J&K’s pluralistic visage.” The border State has been a victim of not only cross-border terrorism, militancy and backwardness but also poor governance. Claiming to reach the last man in line, BJP Govt failed to take measures for social inclusion as well as relief, rehabilitation and welfare measures. Public outreach programme launched through the ‘Back to Village’ resulted in totally failure. This ambitious programme failed to generate hope among the villagers that with the administration coming to their door step, their development needs will be addressed. There is no sense of hope and relief among the masses. The process of winning hearts and minds through good governance could not begin in the right earnest.
Former Minister lashed out at the BJP for yet again making false promises to people in its so-called vision document for DDC polls.He said that so far BJP has only befooled people with false promises. Being the ruling party at the Centre and having secured heavy mandate in the elections from Jammu region, he blamed BJP for its total failure to address the genuine problems and concerns of the people. He said the Central Government and UT administration took several decisions against the wishes and aspirations of the general people, taking advantage of the situation, forcing people to protest.
Accusing the BJP of disregarding the aspirations of the people of J&K and ignoring the burning issues of masses in J&K, the former Minister said that BJP had given wide publicity to public issues during 2019 elections with high hopes generated amongst various sections of society which eventually ended in smoke.Former Minister demanded that the Government should immediately announce the suspension of the three “anti-agriculture” laws. He claimed that the laws would pave way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving the farmers at the “mercy” of big corporate houses. Bhalla sought a white paper from the BJP on the development undertaken and jobs provided to the educated unemployed youth of Jammu region during the past over six years.
“The people of Jammu are within their rights to have a report card from the BJP, which they cradled in power with massive 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly in 2014 on the promise of jobs, development and fulfillment of all the aspirations,” he added.
Maintaining that Union Govt & J&K Government miserably failed to address the Jammu related issues, Bhalla said that all the pompous slogans raised by party had fallen flat which only unveiled the deceitful and two faced character of the BJP. He said that party which turned a blind eye over the aspirations of the people in the last six years only bothered to keep govt intact to satiate its greed for power. Asserting that the BJP Government proved disastrous in J&K and ominous in every aspect, Bhalla said that amid the administrative disarray, the BJP was only indulging in flip flops and opportunist politics by succumbing to enjoy power corridors.
The former Minister said that in the last six years, BJP has failed to take any cognizance on the coveted projects and lamented that the unemployed and underemployed youth of Jammu had been protesting and languishing in open for their genuine demands.
He reiterated his pledge to continue his crusade against the discrimination unless all the aspirations of the people were addressed and fulfilled in letter and spirit.