KL Report
SRINAGAR
Reasserting his resolve to strengthen the inclusive and pluralistic character of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Wednesday said the State is the core component of the idea of India and any attempt at subverting its integrity would be resisted firmly by PDP.
Addressing series of election rallies in Rajouri, Darhal and Nowshehra assembly constituencies, Mufti while referring to the speeches made by Narendra Modi in Jammu yesterday, said it was disappointing that the Prime Minister instead of helping build bonds tried to introduce viciously negative discourse into the election campaign.
“Prime Minister has to be a building force. He does not have the liberty to get into the agitational and divisive mode for electoral gains but has the responsibility of building bonds and help resolve issues where they exist,” he said.
Mufti said as a BJP leader nobody can find fault with the attempts by Modi to seek majority anywhere in the country.
“But it seems he (Modi) is getting carried away by his party’s agenda so much that his responsibilities as the Prime Minister of the country are getting overlooked completely,” he said and added that ideally no Prime Minister would like to become part of victory or loss in a state election, but since Modi has chosen to be so, it would have been expected of him to refrain from taking the election rhetoric to a level which normally should have been left to his party functionaries in the State.
Mufti said J&K as the only Muslim majority state of the country is the centerpiece of the idea of India as its accession has lent credibility to our global acknowledgement as a secular democracy.
“Nothing should be done or would be endorsed by a large majority of the people in the country or the State to devalue this asset,” he said and added that J&K has already suffered too much because of the sub-continent’s turbulent political history and they don’t want a similar ominous situation to be enforced on them again through divisive politics.
Mufti said people in J&K have suffered immensely during the past six years of anarchist rule under NC-Congress coalition and they yearn for a government which would not only pull the State out of the morass, but put it back on rails of peace, progress and development.
He said it is because of the follies of NC-Congress coalition government that people in every nook and corner of the State have rejected both these parties. “It is now for the people of Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri districts to give a final push to this movement for change and hand-down absolute majority to PDP to form a stable government in the State,” he said.
Addressing the rallies PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti said given its pro-people agenda and performance in governance, PDP has emerged as the first choice of the people in all the regions and sub-regions of the State.
She said the party will not only deliver on its promise of good and effective governance, but is committed to bridge the gap between different regions and sub-regions of the State.
“During its brief tenure in government between 2002 and 2005, PDP had proved how to treat all regions and sub-regions equally and party would further facilitate the process of bridging the gap to ensure justice and equality to all regions and sub-regions”, she said and added that it was during the tenure of the PDP government that people of Rajouri and Poonch were liberated from the seize which they had been facing after the partition of the country.
Mehbooba said not only were Poonch-Rajouri districts provided good connectivity with Kashmir through Mughal Road, but the opening of Poonch-Rawalakote road also facilitated better movement of people and goods in the area to boost its economy.
She said opening of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri with an engineering college is a significant experiment which can be emulated in other parts of the country on how to effectively use the Wakaf assets.
Enumerating the measures to be taken for the further development of the area, Mehbooba said if PDP gets the mandate to form the next government, the party would work towards employment generation through expansion of economic activity in the area. She said besides making Tourism Development Authorities for Poonch and Rajouri functional another Tourism Development Authority would be created for the Mughal Road.
She said PDP is also committed to ensure railway connectivity to the area besides setting up of IT Parks and livestock faculty. She said various other measures are in the pipeline which would give a fillip to the local economy and help generate huge employment.
