Jammu, Nov 28: Apni Party President Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday said that recognizing the Punjabi language as one of the official languages in Jammu and Kashmir is on the top agenda of his party.
“It is on our agenda to recognize Punjabi language as one of the official languages in Jammu and Kashmir. The language has a huge contribution and it is spoken by people from all the communities in most regions of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari said while speaking at a joining program here at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. The program was organized by the Women’s Wing, Provincial President, Jammu, Pavneet Kour.
In the presence of the Apni Party President, prominent Sikh community social activist Inderpal Singh with his supporters Surinder Singh, Ranjit Singh, Bila Pardan, Paramjit Singh, Bachan Kumar, Ajit Singh and others joined the Apni Party, an official statement issued here said, adding that they were welcomed into the party folds by the party president.
Speaking on the occasion, Bukhari said that the issues of the Sikh community will be resolved by the party and no one will be left to suffer with no representation. He assured the new entrants and other leaders of the Sikh community that it is their top priority to recognize the Punjabi language as one of the official languages in Jammu and Kashmir.
He recalled the contribution of the language in Jammu and Kashmir in literature, and culture having historical traces. He also appealed to the government to give representation to the Sikh Community members from each region in the Legislative Assembly.
The Apni Party chief appealed to the parents that they shall teach their children the Punjabi language so that it can be revived as per the wishes of the community besides other languages.
Elaborating on how the Apni Party was founded, he recalled that his party was founded when the traditional political parties “left the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the atmosphere of hopelessness following the abrogation of Art 370 and Art 35A”.
“At the time when other parties were not ready to represent the people, the Apni Party moved forward to keep J&K united and represented the people even after facing baseless allegations. Accordingly, we went to Delhi and met the Prime Minister of India as well as the Union Home Minister to highlight the concerns of the general masses,” he said.
Bukhari said his party represented the people in Delhi so that the emerging issues could be resolved following the abrogation of Art 370 and Art 35A. “Therefore, his Party was able to get protection of land and jobs for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
As far as the concerns of the people regarding the deepening electricity crisis, Altaf said his party had raised the issue following which the Lt Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha took the initiative to resolve the issue and accordingly, held a meeting to purchase electricity to resolve the issue of electricity shortage.
He said that there is a need to purchase more electricity for the Jammu and Kashmir regions to meet the growing demand in the wake of the harsh winter season.
Bukhari further stated that the Apni Party is committed to continuing the struggle for statehood and sought holding of Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
