Samba, Sep 19: Apni Party provincial president Jammu and former minister S. Manjit Singh has demanded holding of Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir to address growing public issues. He said there is strong resentment among the people against the traditional political parties “for exploiting them as their vote bank”.
Singh said this during a joining programme here in Samba, the party said in a statement, adding that more than 35 people joined the Apni Party in Samba “as they were impressed with the policy of unity and agenda of equitable development in Jammu and Kashmir”.
Welcoming the new entrants into the party fold, the former minister expressed hope that the party would strengthen at the grassroots level with their joining.
In his address, he said that the people were joining the Apni Party with the hope that their issues would be addressed. “These people were dejected by the previous governments and traditional political parties because they were used as vote banks but the plight of people did not change in the last seven decades. However, the Apni Party has emerged as a hope amid this darkness in the political system. Therefore, large numbers of people are continuously joining the Apni Party from all segments of society as they are impressed with the policies and developmental agenda of the Apni Party,” he said.
He said the people have lost hope in the present form of government in which bureaucracy has the upper hand and they do not work as per the expectation of the people. “This situation has created an uncomfortable situation for the local population both in Jammu as well as in Kashmir. In these circumstances, the people have developed a feeling of alienation and detachment from the government. Therefore, the holding of assembly elections is a must in J&K,” he added.
The Apni Party leader said that authorities have taken many unfriendly decisions which are against the interests of the local population, and create hurdles in development, and employment.
He referred to the controversy of Sarore Toll Plaza, the questionable process of acquiring land on the Jammu-Pathankot highway in Samba for the construction of the expressway and making the commercial landholders unemployed with no scope for them to earn their livelihood. He said that the people in Samba, especially women, are worried because of the spike in essential commodities and electricity bills.
