Jammu, Feb 23: National Conference Provincial President for Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, on Friday expressed concerns over the Bharatiya Janata Party’s handling of various social issues, saying the party is likely to face backlash in upcoming polls in Jammu and Kashmir due to its “neglect of pressing public concerns”.
According to a party statement, Gupta while speaking to media persons here criticized the BJP-led government’s lack of action on various critical issues affecting different segments of society. He said there is disillusionment among supporters and citizens due to unfulfilled promises and a lack of responsiveness to common grievances.
“The government’s indifference to issues such as unemployment, regularization of workers and improvement of public infrastructure has led to widespread dissatisfaction,” he said.
The NC leader said the daily wagers continue to struggle for their rights without government intervention. He also lamented the lack of concrete policies to address youth unemployment, saying that the aspirations of over 7 lakh educated but jobless youths in Jammu and Kashmir remain unfulfilled due to “bureaucratic inefficiencies” and “corruption scandals” plaguing recruitment processes.
Highlighting the plight of academic arrangement staff serving for over 15 to 20 years without regularization, Rattan Lal criticized the government’s “failure” to address their long-standing demands, calling it unjust and against principles of natural justice.
He also highlighted the water scarcity crisis in many parts of Jammu city and region, saying this is due to the government’s lack of proactive measures.
“The then Sheikh Abdullah Government had initiated the Ravi Tawi Canal project to address the scarcity of irrigation and drinking water being faced by the farmers as well as the people of Kandi belt of district Kathua Samba and Jammu but things remained as they were, leading to manifold times increase in the problems related to water scarcity in Jammu,” he said.
He said the present government at the Centre should consider both proposals and come up with a plan to resolve the issue. “Otherwise, things can go out of hand with people’s sufferings reaching alarming levels,” he said.
