SRINAGAR : Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Additional General Secretary and former minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra on Wednesday said the Omar Abdullah-led government was committed to equitable development of all regions and sections of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the government would continue to raise the voice of the people and work towards their welfare, peace and prosperity.
Sadhotra was speaking at a function organised at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhawan in Jammu to welcome new members into the National Conference. Diljeet Singh of Atli More in Kathua, along with Ajay Sharma and Darshan Sharma, joined the party on the occasion.
He urged the newly joined members and party workers to strengthen the party’s organisational base at the grassroots and work collectively for the welfare of the people and restoration of their democratic rights.
JKNC Provincial President Jammu Rattan Lal Gupta said the growing participation of people in the party reflected increasing faith in its policies and programmes.
He claimed the BJP was “steadily losing ground” in the Jammu region due to what he described as its “anti-people policies”, failure to address public concerns and delay in restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Welcoming the new entrants, Gupta said their joining, along with support from people belonging to different sections of society, indicated a “changing political scenario” in the Jammu region.
He said people had lost faith in the BJP-led Central Government over its failure to fulfil repeated commitments on restoration of statehood.
“The people have waited long enough. Statehood is a democratic and constitutional aspiration of the people of J&K, and there can be no further justification for delaying it,” Gupta said.
The JKNC leader urged the Centre to take immediate steps for restoration of statehood, saying it would strengthen the democratic and federal structure of the country.
Gupta also accused the BJP of diverting public attention from issues including unemployment, rising prices, development, infrastructure and economic difficulties faced by ordinary people.
Several senior party leaders and functionaries attended the programme, including Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, Babu Rampal, Bimla Luthra, Vijay Lochan, Abdul Gani Teli, Tejinder Pal Singh, Nar Singh, Rajni Devi, Harshvardhan Singh, Ayub Malik, Pardeep Bali, Yashu Vardhan Singh, Rakesh Singh Raka, Laxmi Datta, Mohinder Singh and other party workers.
