Jammu, Sep 24: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working President Raman Bhalla on Sunday accused the BJP of depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir of the elected government for the last five years. He said the Election Commission is under the constitutional obligation to hold assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir as the last time elections were conducted in J&K was in 2014.
“Since then, no assembly polls were held here,” he said while interacting with the people at Sanjay Nagar Ward-1 during a public meeting organized by Dwarka Choudhary along with other Corporators.
On the occasion, Bhalla said, “Except for the Opposition, there is nobody in Jammu and Kashmir while the government dictates the terms and doesn’t take people or political leaders on board. The government only knows how to harass people. When we tried to meet the government, it didn’t oblige. The time has come for the assembly elections in J&K and it is undemocratic to deprive the people of an elected government for a long time.”
Bhalla said Congress believes in democratic values and will ensure that various pro-people initiatives are launched to benefit the weaker sections of people in our society if elected to power. He also accused the government of failing to create diverse economic opportunities in various sectors including tourism, agriculture and horticulture so that the economy of common people improves.
The Congress leader said it was the second-longest period of Presidential rule in the country since Independence. “Still, many in Jammu and Kashmir wait eagerly to vote because no place has suffered so much for the right to vote as J&K. There is a continuous denial of democracy in J&K after it was stripped of its statehood. With five years under direct Central rule, there is still no clarity on when the assembly polls would be held in the Union Territory,” he said. He urged the people to support Congress saying, “Only this party can fight the wrong policies and politics of diversion and hate of the BJP in the whole country.”
Democratic setup means elected representatives become MLAs and run the government because in a democracy this work can be done by elected representatives, Raman said, adding that in India or elsewhere in the world, officers cannot run the government for more than six months.
He appealed to the workers to prepare for Local Bodies elections and strengthen the party in the district. Coming down heavily on BJP, he said, “The party befooled the people with their false promises and they completely failed to fulfil the promises made with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The first time rule under BJP proved to be worse of its kind where the common masses were suffering and ruling class enjoyed a royal lifestyle.”
“They never care for Jammu where from they got their votes. The people who voted them to power faced frequent power cuts, lack of drinking water supply, price rise of essential commodities, and failed to deal with Pakistan on borders, due to which many soldiers got martyred in absence of strong foreign policy,” he alleged.
He said that the BJP has brought Jammu and Kashmir to a stage with one region “standing against” the other. “It was Congress Government which always kept different regions united as one unit. There was equal share in development and employment without any disparity,” he said while praising the people-friendly policy of the previous Congress government.
“Congress is the first choice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and there is a strong need to work on the ground to strengthen the party so that the next government will be formed by the Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
