Jammu, May 24: Jammu Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working President Raman Bhalla on Wednesday said that Jammu and Kashmir “lost its identity” under the BJP and appealed to the people to support Congress in the fight for the restoration of statehood.
Bhalla said, “BJP regime has destroyed Jammu and Kashmir in various spheres, as it lost its identity, status, right over jobs, lands, opportunities of trade and transport and business besides whatsoever selections and recruitment were done in the UT, witnessed corruption and scams.”
According to a party statement, the Congress leader was interacting with the “aggrieved” people of Ward-45 Digiana in Udham Singh Nagar Jammu South RS Pura Constituency on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla said, “People have been exploited in the name of a bright future, control prices, and two crore jobs annually. But all their promises have fallen flat, except politics of hate and division. Jammu and Kashmir was a historical state with much better living conditions than most states in the country, but now it has been pushed into an atmosphere of political uncertainty.”
He said that further delay in restoring statehood was bound to cause more disconnect between the Centre and J&K people, who he said were feeling hurt after the Centre’s move to downgrade the historical and full-fledged State into two Union Territories without their consent. “The Centre has to address that disconnect, at the right earnest, keeping in view the urges and aspirations of the people,” he said.
Bhalla asserted that Congress is the only viable alternative to the “divisive policies” of the BJP which he said, “has vitiated the political, social, secular, and democratic atmosphere in the country and Jammu and Kashmir”.
“Congress party is committed to restoring the lost glory of the state when it will be in government with the blessings of aggrieved citizens of J&K,” he said.
