Shadow Correspondent,
Jammu, Mar, 26
Expressing gratitude to the Dogras for reposing faith in the Panthers Party, the party leaders including Chairman Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, State President Mr. Balwant Singh Mankotia, State President Young Panthers Mr. Yash Paul Kundal and others took out a massive road show in Kathua which saw en masse participation of the people. The leaders vociferously asserted that since all other parties including the Congress, BJP, NC and PDP had belied the hopes and aspirations of the people of Jammu, Panthers Party alone had stood firm to emerge as a reckoning force to liberate them from the decades old socio-political discrimination. The rally comprising convoy of hundreds of cars and two wheelers passed through Jatwal, Ghagwal, Hiranagar, Chadwal, Dayala Chak, Barnoti finally culminated at Nagri Chowk in Kathua. Meanwhile, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh filed his nomination papers from Udhampur Parliamentary constituency in Kathua today.
While addressing the huge gathering at Kathua, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that with the entire concentration of the successive state as well as central govts on Kashmir, the Jammu region was perpetually left neglected economically and politically besides facing severe identity crisis. He said that people of this region had exhibited tremendous endurance and patience with the hope that the decades old discrimination with Jammu region would end someday with the Kashmir as well as Delhi rulers realizing the need and importance of maintaining regional balance and parity.“The Dogras who heavily voted BJP to power in the State and the Centre were shell shocked when their aspirations and wishes were bartered away by the 25 Saffron MLAs to PDP for the crumbs of power. They felt humiliated, hoodwinked and betrayed by the BJP’s backward somersault from its grandiloquent pre-poll promises doled out to them in 2014. When the people had pinned high hopes with PM Narendra Modi that he would provide solace to them by resolving the Jammu related issues, the BJP only promoted the interests of Kashmir centric leaders by playing a second fiddle to PDP, Harsh rued. Taking a pot shot at the newly announced Sangathan, Mr. Singh said that having served the interests of New Delhi and Kashmir centric forces, its leadership was now trying to cheat the people in the name of ‘dogra Swabhiman’. Never did it occur to these leaders during their 25 year political career that dogras were the most deprived and subjugated lot even during their own successive tenures in power, said Singh.
Wondering on the silence of BJP over the subject of delimitation of Assembly constituencies in J&K despite the same having been included in its vision document, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh maintained that there were 87 Assembly constituencies in the state, out of which, 37 were in Jammu Province despite having an area double the size to that of Kashmir Valley where as latter had 46 Assembly seats with almost same number of electorates. He added that the BJP led government at the Centre ignored the coveted issue which further deprived Jammu region of an equitable and impartial development at par with Kashmir. Anguished over the shabby condition of the border/LoC residents and the farmers of Jammu region, he said that the people living in the forward villages had been facing the wrath of worst Pak’s misadventures which had thrown their lives out of gear. He regretted that several families who had lost their dear ones and cattle stock during the mortar shelling besides the farmers who had lost their homes, agricultural land, crops and livestock during the torrential rains were cursing the Saffron clan for its sinful acts of skullduggery which failed to provide them shelters at safer zones including comprehensive relief and compensation package. “We are not option-less people. We are not weak or exhausted. We can’t allow our posterity, our younger generations to continue to suffer, to lose, to bleed. Your faith in us will help us to break the shackles of hopelessness that has engulfed the dogras and reclaim back not only our lost pride and glory but our Dogra rule as well”, Harsh assured the people.
Mr. Balwant Singh Mankotia and Mr. Yash Paul Kundal said that in the last five years our educated unemployed youth were made to languish in open for their genuine demands while entire thrust was on the valley in the matter of employment. They added that the BJP’s failure to order CBI inquiry in Rasana case, change of nomenclature of Hindu shrines and places, non declaration of holiday on Maharaja Hari Singh’s birthday, abortion of Jammu’s Artificial lake, uncertainty over restoration of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex, obnoxious policy for rehabilitation of the surrender militants and stone-pelters, jobs and compensation for NOKs of deceased anti-national elements, disparagement and empty coffers for martyrs, etc. had brewed fears in the people’s mind that the Kashmir centric leadership was hell bent to erase their historical identity and establish a sectarian hegemony on fascist lines. “Lets all unite to defeat the anti-Jammu forces. Statehood to Jammu Pradesh is the ultimate solution for all the sufferings faced by our people”, NPP leaders asserted.
