Rajouri : Asserting that people want restoration of their honour and dignity, Apni Party President, Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari on Saturday demanded holding of much delayed Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir for the empowerment of people.
According to a statement issued here, “the people across J&K are feeling disempowered with the bureaucratic regime. On the other, the unnecessary delay in holding assembly elections has given rise to the feeling of alienation among the people which needs to be addressed at the earliest,” said Altaf Bukhari while addressing a public rally in Rajouri district.
Bukhari said that “The basic needs of the people whether electricity, clean drinking water, road, basic infrastructure for hospitals, and educational institutions are not available in Rajouri and its border villages due to the poor response from the bureaucrats. As the civil administration has completely collapsed, it is ample time to restore the confidence of the people who are feeling sidelined with no elected representative or Govt in place.”
The people in both the regions have similar demand to restore statehood and hold Assembly Elections in J&K without delay, he said, and questioned that “If elections can be held in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and others states and UTs in the country, why they are delayed in J&K.” He said that the people want their honour and dignity to be restored with the restoration of statehood.
He said that the Govt officials have harassed people on the name of anti-encroachment drive, formalities in old age pension schemes, but forget to complete the pending developmental projects.
He said that “The vacant posts in various Govt Departments of Rajouri district are vacant but no process to fulfill them was taken up. Even as the youth are on the roads demanding employment, the Govt has failed to advertise the vacant posts in various departments for their recruitments.”
He criticized the recruitment agencies which has created mistrust among the aspiring youth in J&K for various jobs with the disclosure of recruitment scam.
“The situation is not favorable for the common man in J&K. The bureaucrats have failed to do anything for the welfare of J&K and its people. It has forced tendering process at the village level even in small works up to Rs 50000 on the name of transparency and ignored the local workers of the respective villages. The youth are being unemployed, but the contractors who have nexus with the babus are getting contracts at the village level while the development has stalled with the non-availability of funds in most of the villages/ Panchayats in Rajouri,” he added highlighting concern raised by the people.
“The elected Govt is responsible to the people as it works for them. However, the babus are not answerable to the people. If we form the next Govt, we will hold that the officials ignoring developmental works and engaging the outsiders in village level works will have to face the action under rules,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said that the Apni Party was founded to work for the welfare and protect the basic rights of the people whether land or jobs.
“The opposition political parties created suspicion among the people with the foundation of Apni Party as they lost their ground. These politicians were enjoying their days after the August 5, 2019 decision in the houses, guest houses and hotels, but we did not remain silent. Unlike them, we risked ourselves and came out to represent the people,” he recalled while asking the people that the Apni Party represents the public sentiments and tells the truth to the people without misleading them from the factual situation.
He said that “We went to Delhi to get protection for the job and land for the residents of J&K. However, the other political parties which ruled J & K from time to time went to Delhi to get protection for their own interests. Therefore, they cannot speak on behalf of the general masses. It is the only Apni Party which represents the people and takes the future generation towards a peaceful and bright future.”
“These political parties defamed the Apni Party. However, they themselves went to Delhi and met the Prime Minister of India. But the difference was that the Apni Party went to Delhi for the people, and the opposition leaders went there for themselves,” he said.
He further said that “The BJP and other traditional political parties have created misunderstanding among the people of two regions. They do divisive politics. However, we believe in unity and brotherhood among the people in J&K.”
It was the part of their divisive plan that the constituencies were created in the delimitation commission report and Rajouri-Anantnag constituency was created without the consultation of the local representatives.
He said that “A major attempt was made in Rajouri to divide people on the name of Gujjars, Pahari and Kashmiri. Not only did the BJP, the Congress Party, NC, and PDP are equally responsible for creating division in the regions as well as among the people.”
He however appreciated the people of Rajouri for maintaining peace and brotherhood despite all attempts to create misunderstanding among them.
While denouncing the divisive forces, he said that the people have shown their faith in that Apni Party. He said that Apni Part will form the next Govt in J&K and all the regions will get equal representation.
“We will not allow the bulldozer politics to flourish in J&K. The people from all sections of society are against it. People want peace, prosperity and development and the Apni Party is committed to provide stability and equitable development,” he added.
