GNS Kotranka ( Rajouri), Dec 13: Seeking support of the people to change the fundamentals of political and administrative system of the state, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today said her party had proved how a change could be brought about in the life of people even with a fractured mandate and a short span of time.
Addressing a public rally here she said governance consciousness was generated in the people of Jammu and Kashmir only after experiencing the positive impact of the previous PDP-Congress government on their daily lives and they would hence forth not compromise on the quality of governance.
Mehbooba said the state had unfortunately been exploited previously on emotional slogans alone without keeping pace with the requirements of development and growth that had hit the remote and the backward areas the hardest. She said the government under Mufti Mohammed Sayeed unlocked the process of development by scrapping the ban on recruitments to government jobs, opening and up-gradation of educational institutions, launching of new road, electrification and water supply schemes and creation of an atmosphere which was free of fear and terror. “This we could achieve with just 16 members in the Assembly and a loose coalition of many parties and independent members”, she said.
Mehbooba said the areas like Poonch, Rajouri and the Chenab Valley had been kept at the tail end of development process deliberately and used only as a vote bank for decades. By removing the fear of gun, official repression and restoring dignity of people living there the PDP had brought them into the state’s main stream and simultaneously opened new avenues of development. Poonch and Rajouri, she said, is a show case of what a state government can achieve with focused and sincere attention in changing the destiny of a place even though the initiatives made were not carried forward with seriousness.
The PDP President said the feel good environment that the previous government left behind was unfortunately wasted by the present government. It not only brought to a halt the process of development and political reconciliation but reversed the process in every sense of the word. The people now are fed up with this governemnt, its mis-governance and the strikingly corrupt system that it has promoted,she said and regretted that corruption was now institutionalized even at the highest levels as the recent happenings had exposed. She said a political party that takes bribe from its own workers for cabinet berths and for mandates for MLA’s and MLC’s can never be trusted with any authority to enforce discipline among the administration that it heads.
Referring to the repeated compromises made by NC on the state’s resources, powers and institutions Mehbooba said the party had bartered away vital interests of the state for the frills and luxuries of power. While it had gifted ten most feasible power projects to the NHPC just for their lust it was now for the people of the state to gear up for correcting the wrongs done to them. She said handing over of state’s financial management to the Reserve Bank of India and snatching it from the J&K Bank was a severe blow to the financial autonomy of the state and if the NC remained unchecked “nothing would remain in our hands” she said.
Mehbooba said even though the state government is receiving huge funds from the Centre it has been unable to make any impact. In areas like Rajouri people are still deprived of basic needs like roads, water, and electricity not to speak of quality education and health facilities. She said what ever funds the state government spends is only with a view to helping their political favourites, touts, middle men and relatives.
Mehbooba said the problems of the people have been compounded by the phenomenal rise in prices and non availability of rations from the government depots. While the government had promised increased scale of ration, jobs for 8th pass and free electricity to every body it has in effect snatched what ever was previously available. “Rations are available in black market, electricity has disappeared even as the tariff has been increased and jobs are again on sale”, she said and pointed out that the lies spoken by this government had tarnished the image of entire political mainstream.
Speaking on the occasion senior party leader and former Finance Minister Tariq Hamid Qarra said that the state was unsafe in the hands of Omar Abdullah. He said by his repeated blunders the Chief Minister had proved that he lacked basic qualities of leadership and as a result is now engaged in an unending battle for survival.
Qarra said the NC lacks any originality or vision and Omar Abdullah was trying to imitate Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and was trying to project the PDP agends as his own. He said though it was good that the NC had stopped talking of bombardment of Pakistan and waging a war for liberation of PaK but it failed to make any impact on the people because it was not sincere in its pronouncements. He said though Omar Abdullah made noises about AFSPA recently but he could not make any headway and in the process lowered the prestige of Chief Minister’s position and compromises the dignity and respect of the state.
Speaking on the occasion, MLA Darhal Choudhary Zulfikar said that during the last three years the present regime has done nothing for the welfare of the people. He said that except false promises this regime has done nothing.
State secretary of party Hussain Ali Wafa, Bharat Bhushan, Shahzad Khan, Munshi Alam Din, Choudhary Mir Hussain, Manzoor Hussain and others also addressed the meeting.
In the function a number Panchayats members joined PDP. Prominent among those who joined PDP included Ali Mohammad (retd tehsildar), Sher Mohammad, Raja Aslam Khan, Bashir Ahmed Kalotra, Haji Mir Hussain, Choudhary Mohammad Sadiq, Choudhary Nazam Din, Shabir Ahmed Bhat, Thakur Prem Singh, Mani Ram, Dalip Singh, (all Sarpanches) and other Panchayat members of Kotranka and adjoining localities.
Comments
Post a Comment