Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Apr, 04
Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Sunday reiterated that Congress has always advocated and supported to fulfill the demands of border people and refugees. Bhalla reiterated the resolve of party to address all outstanding issues of refugees of West Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on priority. He strongly highlighted their long outstanding issues and requested the Central leadership to address these on merit. He said the refugees are highlighting their problems from time to time and now the time has come when their all genuine problems are solved in an amicable manner. This was observed by former Minister Raman Bhalla while addressing public gathering at Today at Balachak in RS Pura constituency organized by Dr. Karan Bhagat and Sunil Dutt. Earlier Congress leaders took out huge cars and bikes rally from Dablehar to Balachak against BJP Govt over unprecedented hike in prices of essential elements ,lack of development, restoration of statehood besides host of other issues.
Those who also addressed the gathering include JKPCC General Secretary Manmohan Singh, Distt Rural President Hari Singh Chib, NSUI National President Neeraj Kundan, PYC President Uday Bhanu Chib, NSUI State President Sunny Parihar, PCC General Secretary Pawan Raina, Ravinder Singh, Mohan Choudhary. Prominent those present on the occasion include Sanjeev Panda, Surinder Kumar, Kuldeep Raj, Harbans Lal, Rajesh Sharma, Jasmeet Raina, Ashok Kumar beside others.
Bhalla said Government should show sympathy with the affected people and should ensure fair treatment, he added.He urged Central as well as J&K Governments to show flexibility on the issues of refugees and address them sympathetically without wasting more time as they have already suffered for so many years.He said that refugees are confronting for their genuine rights but BJP government failed to address their issues, with the result the refugees lived in a painful environment. He renewed the demands and urged both Central and State Government to address them on priority. He also alleged the government was trying to divert people’s attention by selling golden dreams” to different sections of the society.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla observed that BJP government has completely failed in tackling the situation arising out of the Covid-19 outbreak. Despite verbal orders from the government, people are facing livelihood problem. The BJP government is trying to sell golden dreams to different sections of the society and divert them. They are unable to evaluate the situation and also not able to find the correct way to solve this problem,” former Minister said.He also said BJP Govt is not talking about the poorest of the poor.
They are facing starvation. Afraid of public anger, BJP workers are hiding in their homes. People have understood that the BJP does not stand with poor and the weaker sections of the society. He alleged that Govt does not have the correct statistics” pertaining to unemployed persons. He highlighted multi-lateral fallouts on multiple fronts ranging from ensuring medicare to victims to the supply of essentials .They don’t even know how many youth are under-employed. From where will they give employment to the youth? The overall scenario is quite grim and there is no room for complacency. It can prove catastrophic unless an emergent and proactive response is taken to save precious lives,” he said.
Former Minister Bhalla said the government should have anticipated such a situation and taken necessary measures to ramp-up bed strength by earmarking the maximum number of available beds in each hospital. Private hospitals and nursing homes should have been roped in, besides setting up a hospital with at least a thousand beds, he said . While lauding the frontline warriors for risking their lives by putting in best efforts to treat Covid-19 cases, he slammed the “poor infrastructural backup” in Jammu. Bhalla reiterated the need to deploy senior officers for monitoring the situation which seems to be going out of control. “This is to be taken note of to instil confidence among the people who are becoming restive on seeing the pitiable situation of health facilities,” he added.
He assailed the -BJP dispensation for its callous and anti-people approach which it said had brought the state to a chaos-like situation on all fronts. Bhalla said the rise in ration prices was like backstabbing the poor consumers, who were already facing the brunt of inflation and grappling with problems created by the insensitive government in terms of dysfunctional utility services such as power and drinking water.It is the prerogative of the government to conduct Assembly elections, but it is also the responsibility of the same government to protect its citizens and safeguard their lives,” he said.
Former Minister Bhalla maintained that security scenario in the Valley is a matter of serious concern and underlines the political vacuum that has resulted in accentuating the alienation on the ground, especially among the youth,” he said.
The “rhetoric of reconciliation” was of little use in view of the the growing “disenchantment and disillusionment” among the youth, he added.The youth deserve more than the occasional rhetorical statement or press note,” he said. “It is the onerous responsibility of the state government to reach out to the youth and bring the J&K back to the path of stability and peace,” he said.But, he alleged, the BJP government continued to alienate the people – through its “complete governance failures or numerous political compromises and U-turns”. He also urged upon the administration to streamline the salaries of all daily rated workers as they had not been paid for months and sometimes years together. He also urged the administration to regularize the services of all daily-rated workers to secure their future. The former Minister also demanded recruitment notification for vacancies of all the departments which are lying vacant since long to absorb educated youth that will also help in lowering down unemployment.
JKPCC General Secretary Manmohan Singh advised the BJP to stop rhetoric and focus on development and employment in marginalized Jammu and Kashmir. Singh claimed that Union Govt has failed to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, initiate meaningful and genuine democratic process in order to fill the political vacuum caused due to their wrong policies and programmes.He said Congress has made immense contribution towards nation building and sustaining peace, amity, harmony, democracy, progress and development of Jammu and Kashmir during most testing times. Not listening to political leadership and aggrieved people is the biggest setback to democratic polity apart from undermining their contribution who stood tall in most turbulent situations, he added. Instead of addressing the real issues, BJP’s leaders are indulging in vilification campaign against opponents, ignoring the fundamental fact that participation of all mainstream forces is a direct answer to Pakistan and the gun culture sponsored by it. Such utterances of the top ruling party leaders are highly irresponsible and create hatred and division in the society,” Bhalla said.
Distt Rural President Hari Singh Chib urged upon the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to pay urgent attention as the public is suffering badly. He said that the BJP’s claim of providing ‘pro-people’ governance stand exposed as Central Government has failed miserably to address the issues affecting the general public.He castigated the BJP government, saying that the common man is going through the worst sufferings under the current dispensation, which has sold its soul to few businessmen, ignoring the agonies of the countrymen. He said that the country is presently going through a state of crisis.“The graph of the inflation is on a constant rise, the fuel prices have touched the sky, farmers across the country are protesting for repeal of three farm laws aiming to snatch their right over their own lands. The victims of these three issues are the common men, the countrymen who are the true sons of the soil,” he said .“The BJP claims that theirs is a government of the people, for the people. I ask them to explain how it could be a public friendly government when the common man is suffering from these issues for so long now,” he asked.
NSUI National President Neeraj Kundan and NSUI State President Sunny Parihar blamed the BJP for its total failure to address the genuine problems of the people. They took stock of the problems of people being aggravated by the Govt at the behest of ruling BJP, by series of anti-people and anti-youth decisions. They said the nation is seeking answer from PM Modi as to what was he able to achieve on the promises he made to people during his election campaign in 2014. People want to know where the 10 crore jobs are and what about other promises. They lashed out at the BJP for yet again making false promises to people in its so-called vision document for DDC polls. He said that so far BJP has only befooled people with false promises. Being the ruling party at the Centre and having secured heavy mandate in the elections from Jammu region, they blamed BJP for its total failure to address the genuine problems and concerns of the people. They said the Central Government and UT administration took several decisions against the wishes and aspirations of the general people, taking advantage of the situation, forcing people to protest.
PYC President Uday Bhanu Chib accusing the BJP of disregarding the aspirations of the people of J&K and ignoring the burning issues of masses in J&K, Chib said that BJP had given wide publicity to public issues during 2019 elections with high hopes generated amongst various sections of society which eventually ended in smoke. He said the Congress was not like the BJP which, he alleged, compromised on secularism for the sake of attaining power. “To keep the country integral and united, the Constitution refers to secularism and this ideology is in the interest of the nation,” he said. He said instead of discussing failure in providing jobs, depriving the youth and businessmen of better services, snatching land rights and statehood, BJP only thumping its chest over imaginary development in J&K.
Dr Karan Bhagat in his address said that BJP is responsible for creating social and political uncertainty in J&K and it can go to any extent to remain in power. He said that the foundation of the country has been laid on secular ideals and harmony amongst different sections keeping in view of the pluralistic character of the nation and those spreading hatred are weakening the nation. He urged people to defeat the designs of such forces who can disturb and destroy the secular fabric of our nation. There is a strong resentment among the people against this government as it has not fulfilled its promises made at the time of Assembly elections. He said that disillusionment of people with the BJP government is growing, as governance is at the lowest depth and development has taken nose dive in the past over six years. “People are realising the futility of electing a government that is not only insensitive towards their problems but also responsible in adding to these on every front”, he said.
