Jammu, Dec 01: Apni Party Provincial President Jammu and former minister, S. Manjit Singh on Friday said that restoration of the democratic system in Jammu and Kashmir is a must to “calm down tempers” in both regions.
As per the press release, the Apni Party leaders and workers participated in a monthly meeting here at Vijaypur under the leadership of S. Manjit Singh to discuss the current political situation in Jammu and Kashmir that has impacted normal life, given rise to multiple issues and affected developmental process of the erstwhile State.
In his speech, the former minister said he was surprised to note that the Election Commission of India has not been able to declare Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir and on the other hand, they are successfully conducting polls in every state of the country.
“If the Election Commission can hold meetings in Jammu as well as in Kashmir regarding poll preparation for Parliamentary elections, what is stopping them from holding elections for J&K’s assembly,” he said while raising concern over the situation that has landed the people in deep trouble.
“There is a feeling of discontent among the people as the authorities have completely failed to work as per the wishes of the people. The issues concerning development and employment have grown whereas the resources and business have been grabbed by the outsiders,” Singh added.
The Apni Party leader added, “The locals feel that the outsiders will take over employment and resources from them and that would further aggravate the situation because the authorities are favouring the outsiders in contracts and the increased involvement of the mafia system in the different types of works allotted by the authorities including mining, etc.”
In this situation, he said that it was imperative to hold assembly elections, he said, adding that the Election Commission of India is taking no decision and delaying the process of restoration of the democratic system without explaining the reason.
“The people must be allowed to have their own elected government that would be able to work for them and satisfy their needs which cannot be fulfilled by the present form of government,” he added.
It was resolved in the meeting that the Apni Party would continue its fight against the “injustice” with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and no stone will be left unturned to resolve the issues of the people.
“If the need arises, we will hit the roads to highlight the demands of the people,” Manjit said while asking the party cadre to increase their ground activities and hold interaction with the people to ensure redressal of their issues.
