Manjit demands assembly elections, statehood to J&K

Jammu, Apr 01: Apni Party Provincial President, Jammu and former minister S. Manjit Singh on Monday demanded the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and the holding of assembly elections.
As per the press release, a monthly meeting of the Apni Party workers was organized at Vijaypur which was chaired by Manjit Singh to “discuss the present political situation and chalk out the future course of action in the wake of continuous bureaucratic rules that have become root cause of resentment among the local population against the outsiders”.
During the meeting, Singh was informed about the activities of the Party in Samba district and its public outreach program to address growing issues of the people in the district.
The party workers informed the Provincial President about the concerns of the people regarding pending compensation cases of the border villagers along the International Border, growing unemployment, unaddressed demand of bunker construction in Ramgarh, KCC cases of the farmers, canal water issue of tale end villages, electricity, etc, the statement said.
Manjit appreciated the party workers for their constant efforts to redress the genuine demands of the people and asked them to intensify their activities and hold corner meetings in every nook and corner of the villages. He asked them to educate people about the policy of equitable development, and protection of the rights of the locals which is adopted by the Apni Party.
The Apni Party leader, however, expressed concern over the delay in holding the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir while terming it against the aspiration of the people of both regions. “The people were expecting the holding of assembly and parliamentary elections jointly in J&K, but it did not happen which has disappointed the people because they are under the regime that is being run by the bureaucracy, mostly outsiders, who have no connection with the local population,” he said.
In the wake of the emerging political situation, Singh appealed to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold assembly elections in J&K as early as possible because the situation is conducive and the people are in deep distress without an elected government of their choice.
“It becomes imperative for the ECI to declare assembly polls. On the other hand, the Government of India should also restore the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir to win the confidence of the people who are unhappy with the downgrading of their historic state,” he said.