KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Sunday lashed out at the Union and State Government for their continued indifference towards the flood victims and said the double standards between the response of the Union Government in Uttarakhand and the lack of one in J&K was glaring and tragic.
“Why the double standards between Uttarakhand and Kashmir? Uttarakhand received the entire amount of the Relief Package sought by the State Government there within the first month and a half of the natural calamity there. On the contrary, a year has come to pass since the September Floods and J&K is yet to see any signs of a Relief and Rehabilitation Package from the Government of India. The glaring difference between the treatment meted out to Uttarakhand and that exhibited in Kashmir is extremely unfortunate and could have far reaching implications on the psyche of our people. The people feel let down and discriminated against and they are completely justified to feel that way,” NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah said in a party statement this afternoon.
The National Conference President said NC had been “fiercely advocating” a comprehensive Relief and Rehabilitation Package from the Union Government and the previous NC-led Government had sought a Rs 44,000 Crore package from the Central Government. “Unfortunately this package was sabotaged by the PDP and their Finance Minister opposed it on the floor of the Legislative Assembly – calling it an ‘ad hoc package’. If PDP had a problem with the package that was proposed, what stopped them from proposing a new package after they came to power in an alliance with the BJP? Neither did they propose a new package, nor did they follow-up on the package proposed by the previous Government. Till now we have seen little beyond customary lip service. The flood victims didn’t receive anything beyond the initial interim payments made out by the previous Government in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. This indifference of the Central Government is dismaying for every citizen of the State,” Dr Farooq said.
“We keep hearing of imaginary, make-belief packages every few days but these announcements turn out to be fake alarms. This has added insult to the injuries of the flood victims – they are now at the receiving end of one cruel joke after another scripted by the PDP-BJP State Government,” the NC President added.
Meanwhile, National Conference expressed grief and sorrow over two more deaths due to shelling on the Line of Control in Poonch and said the ceasefire violations were condemnable in the strongest of terms.
NC General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar while extending his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families said the targeting of unarmed, innocent civilians was utterly condemnable and unacceptable.
“NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah and Working President Omar Abdullah have condemned the ceasefire violations in Poonch on Saturday and have expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives. The Party Leadership has expressed concern over the escalating grim situation in the area and has also condoled the death of two more civilians who had sustained injuries in incidents of shelling in Poonch. Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have also wished for the speedy recovery of those injured due to shelling in the Manjakote Sector in Rajouri today,” NC General Secretary said.
The NC General Secretary also expressed concern over reports of casualties in the Manjakote Sector in Rajouri due to shelling and said the situation in Poonch and Rajouri was going from bad to worse as the State Government was yet to send any assessment and assistance teams to the affected areas.
“The State Government is missing on the ground. NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah had visited these areas just a week or so ago and had raised a concern over the atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the area due to frequent incidents of cross LOC shelling. The State Government was missing from these areas despite repeated pleas from locals to be evacuated to safe shelters. The indifference of the Administration has put the lives of locals in harm’s way,” Sagar said.
