Jammu, June 22: Democratic Progressive Azad party (DPAP) on Thursday said the party came into existence to serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir, to uplift the downtrodden and to eradicate poverty and unemployment from the region. The party reiterated its demand for the restoration of statehood to J&K.
According to a DPAP statement issued here, a meeting of the party workers was held at Gool Sangaldan in district Ramban on Thursday which was chaired by its vice chairman G N Saroori.
During the meeting, “hundreds of people participated in the meeting and showed resentment against the previous PDP-BJP government in J&K for taking anti-people decisions and multiplying troubles for the common masses,” the statement said.
“The meeting observed that DPAP from the day it came into existence remained the only political party to raise public issues and protested against the stopping of free ration to the poor, reduction of monthly ration quota and imposition of property tax, demanding immediate rollback of all anti-people measures,” it said. “The DPAP is also the only political party that took to the streets to press for the assessment of the damage in earthquake-hit areas and adequate compensation to the victims of Chenab Valley.”
Speaking on the occasion, Saroori said the previous PDP-BJP government in the erstwhile state of J&K “ruined” the life of the common man by taking “anti-people” decisions. “Both these parties had only one aim to retain power and they did nothing for a poor, upliftment of downtrodden,” he said.
Saroori said that PDP after making an alliance with BJP in J&K continued to raise “hollow slogans”. “PDP brought death and destruction in J&K, forgot its self-rule slogan and worked with BJP from behind the curtain to abrogate the special status of J&K,” he said
Party’s general secretary R S Chib said that no political party has taken to the streets against the BJP in J&K to seek the redressal of public grievances except the DPAP.
Later, the party workers held protest demonstrations, demanding rations for the poor, restoration of monthly ration quota to consumers and rollback of imposition of property tax and other “anti-people” decisions.
They also demanded the assessment of the damage in earthquake-hit areas and adequate compensation to the victims of the Chenab Valley. On the instructions of party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, DPAP leaders are visiting different areas of Chenab Valley these days and interacting with earthquake victims and public delegations to have first-hand accounts of public issues, the statement said.
