Srinagar

On 114th birth anniversary of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, National Conference on Thursday resolved to uphold the ideals of the great visionary leader, who worked tirelessly all his life to uphold secular, pluralistic, democratic, multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic ethos of Jammu and Kashmir and strived for empowerment of down-trodden and marginalized segments of the society while continuously endeavouring for strengthening the various institutions and taking governance to grassroots level.

NC function at Jammu on 114th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah

Leading senior leaders and workers in paying tribute to Sheikh Sahib at a function held at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan, Provincial President Devender Singh Rana said the leader of the masses rejected the two-nation theory of Ali Mohammed Jinnah and tied destiny of Jammu and Kashmir with Gandhiji’s secular India because of his unflinching commitment to secularism and democracy. He recalled the great role of the tallest leader of the Indian sub-continent in transforming Muslim Conference into National Conference, as he firmly believed in taking all segments of the inclusive society along.

“Sher-e-Kashmir will be remembered by generations for his revolutionary Land Reforms Act, devolution of powers under Single Line Administration to ensure equitable development of all the regions and sub-regions besides promoting Panchayati Raj System to empower people at grassroots level”, the Provincial President said, adding that Sheikh Sahib’s role will go down in the annals of history with golden letters and historians can never afford to ignore the contribution of National Conference towards peace, prosperity and development of Jammu and Kashmir besides upholding the dignity of the people. He said the party has weathered political storms during most turbulent times and referred to the political developments of 1953, 1977 and 1984. He exuded confidence that the people in general and the National Conference cadre, in particular, will meet the challenges in future as well with courage and fortitude.

On this occasion, National Conference adopted a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to win the hearts and minds of people in Jammu and Kashmir by reaching out to them and understanding their aspirations.

The resolution demanded the release of all political leaders including three former chief ministers.

Rana expressed grave concern over continued detention of the National Conference leadership for four months now, saying slapping of Public Safety Act on Dr Farooq Abdullah, one of the towering leaders of the country, is most unfortunate, painful and highly deplorable.

Referring to the overall political situation post abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, Rana said a call regarding future strategy would be taken by the working committee of the party, over 60 per cent members of which are currently under detention. He said no party functionary is accredited to dwell upon these issues.

Rana said National Conference is committed to the welfare of the people and will strive for equitable opportunities to all segments of society in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He referred to the various strides taken in this regard in the past to assuage urges and aspirations of people. He also dwelt in length on steps taken by the National Conference led government in providing employment to unemployed.

Recalling the great efforts made during the tenure of Dr Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister in strengthening grassroots level democracy, Rana said the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act was considered as most robust Act across the country and the states like Andhra Pradesh and Kerala took lead in adopting this pattern. He said the basic level democracy witnessed a huge turn around after successful elections to Panchayats during the tenure of Omar Abdullah.

The Provincial President sought adequate funds for the effective functioning of panchayats and adequate powers to Block Development Councils for achieving the overall objective of rural development. He demanded the status of Minister of State for BDC Chairpersons, saying this will enable them to effectively monitor and ensure implementation of various schemes and programmes.

Rana also demanded restoration of internet services across Jammu and Kashmir, saying lack of facility has adversely impacted traders, students, professionals and all other segments of society.

The homage giving function started with all-religious prayers offered by Rattan Lal Gupta,Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Gurdeep Singh Sasan and Satwant Kour Dogra besides Waris Gill.

Tributes-giving functions were also held by various district National Conference Committees across the Jammu region, said the spokesman in a statement.

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