Jammu, Mar 11: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sham Lal Sharma on Tuesday accused the National Conference (NC), Congress and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of consistently discriminating against the Jammu region. He said this bias against Jammu was the primary reason for his departure from the Congress and his decision to join the BJP, which he claimed actively addresses Jammu’s concerns.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Sharma said that during his tenure as a minister, 11,000 daily wagers were regularised in Kashmir, but not a single daily wager from Jammu was given regular status.
“When I was a minister, I received a list of 10,000 daily wagers. Subsequently, all daily wagers from Kashmir were regularised, but none from Jammu were considered,” he alleged.
The BJP leader said he left the Congress after realising that the party ignored Jammu’s interests and worked solely for political gains. He further accused the NC, Congress and PDP of trying to rewrite history, asserting that their attempts would not succeed.
“I left Congress because it consistently ignored Jammu for political benefits. The people of Jammu have suffered long enough due to this discrimination,” he said.
Sharma reaffirmed his belief that the BJP is the only party that genuinely represents and fights for the interests of the Jammu region.