SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Saturday said elections in J&K will be held in a transparent manner for the first time and nobody will be allowed to “hijack democracy” as seen in the past.
Addressing a public gathering at the Beerwah area of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, LG Sinha, said, “Gone are the days when elections were rigged and democracy hijacked in J&K. Everything is taking place in a transparent manner. Whenever elections are held in J&K, the process will be held in a transparent manner as well for the first time. Nobody will be allowed to hijack democracy as seen in the past,” he said.
The LG further said that “clear-cut directions” have been passed to the security agencies and “I can tell you with full authority, no innocent will be touched by the security agencies in J&K.”
Taking a jibe at the previous governments, Sinha said that people were given hollow promises and tall claims in the past. “Things changed immensely after 2019. Our motive has been to serve people and to come up to the expectations of the masses. Every challenge has been turned into an opportunity,” he said, adding that before 2019, development was confined to few families. A lot of promises were made but they were never fulfilled,” the LG said.
He said the pace of development was so slow in J&K as many projects were languishing in the past five, ten, fifteen, and even twenty years. “We have inaugurated 1500 such projects worth Rs 2500 Crore,” the LG said.
Sinha said that before 2019, jobs were given to only influential people, and the poor were left alone. “Impression was given to the people that there was nothing beyond government jobs. Backdoor appointments were the first priority of previous regimes,” he said. “In the past three years, 30,000 people were given jobs. Not a single person got the job through a backdoor channel. “Seven lakh people were given training to become entrepreneurs in the past three years.”
The LG said that government will soon come up with a holistic plan to promote Tosamaidan, Dodhpathri, and Yousmarg as the “best tourist destinations of Budgam district.”
“In the past three years, 16, 5000 tourists visited Budgam. We hope to see eight lakh tourist arrivals in the district this year,” he said, adding that “National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will also come up in Budgam district soon.”
He said that the administration led by him will ensure that Budgam district will be made drug-free.
The LG said that the G-20 event in Srinagar has sent a message across the world that J&K is not thinking about the past anymore and moving ahead on the path of peace and prosperity. He urged people to isolate the elements who are trying to disrupt peace—(KNO)
