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SRINAGAR

Omar Abdullah

National Conference on Monday organized a day-long Blood Donation Camp at Party Headquarters at Nawa-e-Subha Complex in Srinagar. The Camp was inaugurated by National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah and was held in the memory of those flood victims who lost their lives in the 2014 Floods and also to express solidarity with those hundreds and thousands of flood victims who continue to suffer at the hands of an apathetic and cruel Government.

NC Working President Omar Abdullah was the first donor to donate blood at the camp. Party leaders, office bearers and activists of the parent and youth wings of the party donated a total of 146 units of blood at the NC Blood Donation Camp.

Speaking to reporters after donating blood at the Blood Donation Camp, NC Working President Omar Abdullah said, “the PDP-BJP Government was a tale of hopelessness and indifference for the flood victims and there had been a clear lack of political will to pursue a Relief and Rehabilitation Package.” “The flood victims held on to hope for as long as they could. Thousands were rendered homeless while thousands more were robbed of their livelihood as their shops and businesses suffered complete damage. A year has passed and practically nothing has been done for the flood victims. While the State Government has thirty Crores for SUVs and cars for Mufti Sahab and his Ministers, they don’t have a penny to spare for the flood victims. Things couldn’t get more disappointing,” Omar.

The NC Working President said the State Government had sabotaged the Flood Relief & Rehabilitation Package when its own Finance Minister had demonized the package on the floor of the Legislative Assembly and had called into question the scale of damage and losses suffered by the State. “It was the State’s own Finance Minister who provided New Delhi with an exit window to escape its responsibility towards the flood victims. PDP intentionally sabotaged the Rs 44,000 Crore Flood Relief and Rehabilitation package for its ruthless, petty partisan insecurities,” Omar Abdullah added.

“The step-motherly attitude of the Union Government towards flood victims in Kashmir has been appalling. This has been a year of apathy and insensitivity. While Prime Minister Modi promised us the moon in the immediate aftermath of the calamity, there was nothing in store for the people of Kashmir but monumental disappointment,” the NC Working President said.

The NC Working President while strongly condemning the detention and arrests of trade leaders and activists ahead of the first anniversary of the 2014 Floods said it was no surprise that PDP wanted the ‘celebrate’ the anniversary of the horrific floods. “As the only beneficiary of the floods of course PDP will see the first anniversary of the floods as a day of celebration. Seems like PDP’s ‘revival day’ was a day of house arrests, nocturnal raids and lathi-charges against the hardest-hit flood victims. Trade body leaders were arrested in nocturnal raids, people rounded up and stolen of their right to even wail at the cruelty of the PDP-BJP Government. We strongly condemn the police action against Trade Bodies that has been ordered by the State Government. Mufti Sahab’s dictatorial tendencies are coming to fore all over again,” the NC Working President added.

Responding to questions about possible International Aid and why New Delhi had refused offers of such help from other countries, the NC Working President said the flood victims deserved justice and if that justice and help came in terms of International Aid or Domestic Aid – that difference was irrelevant to the flood victims at this stage. “The flood victims have been lied to, humiliated and insulted by this Government over the course of the last one year. Now we yet again reiterate our appeal for their effective and dignified rehabilitation.”

Meanwhile, National Conference sent a memorandum to Governor NN Vohra highlighting the indifference of the Union and State Governments towards Flood Victims in the State and also demanding the effective and dignified rehabilitation of each and every flood victim.

A delegation of Party Leaders consisting of Party Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu, NC Central Kashmir Zone President MLC Ali Mohammad Dar, NC Provincial Secretary Advocate Showkat Ahmed Mir, NC Srinagar District President Peer Mohammad Afaq, NC Women’s Wing Provincial Vice President Sabiya Qadri and NC Youth Wing Provincial Secretary Mudassir Shahmiri called on the Principal Secretary to the Governor and submitted the memorandum on behalf of the NC Working President. The Governor will receive the memorandum on his return to the State.

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