Samba, Dec 15: Apni Party Provincial President Jammu and former minister, S Manjit Singh has demanded political reservation for Jatts and Sikh communities in Jammu and Kashmir in the legislative assembly.
Singh was speaking at a meeting here at Ramgarh that was organized by Apni Party District President, Legal Cell, Samba, Adv Sahil Bharti. The meeting was also attended by District President, Samba, Raman Thappa, Block President, Ramgarh, Bachan Choudhary, and others, the party said in a statement.
The meeting was organized to discuss the emerging political situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the demands of the people that would help them overcome the difficulties they have been facing for the last many decades, it added.
In his address, Manjit Singh expressed concern over the plight of the marginalized section of society, especially the Sikhs and Jatts who have a huge population but were not given political representation.
To upgrade their living standard, political and economic status, he said that it becomes imperative for the government to grant political reservations to both Sikhs and Jatts in Jammu as well as Kashmir Provinces. He said that the Sikhs should be given political representation by reserving one legislative assembly seat each in Jammu as well as in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, he demanded that Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) Displaced Persons (DPs) should also be given reservation in the legislative assembly of up to eight seats.
“The reservation of one legislative assembly seat for the PoJK DPs is insufficient and therefore, the seats for the PoJK DPs should be enhanced up to eight seats,” he said, adding that the government should seriously look into the demands of the DPs and resolve them accordingly.
The Apni Party leader said the people in both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir have been waiting with desperation for the assembly elections because the present form of government is incompetent to resolve the problems of the people.
“The situation is suitable for holding assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Hence, the Election Commission of India should take the demand of the people into consideration and announce the assembly polls,” he added. Earlier, the developmental issues were also discussed in the meeting.
The District President, Legal Cell, Samba, Advocate Sahil Bharti also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various issues confronted by the people in Ramgarh.
