Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, July, 31:
Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today strongly advocated earliest assembly elections in state to address burning issues of general public as under President’s Rule people from all three regions of state are facing extreme hardships in getting their issues redressed. In a public interaction organized at Nai Basti in Gandhi Nagar constituency on Wednesday, Bhalla said that Congress will bring peace and normalcy in Kashmir if voted to power. Prominent among those present on the occasion include Block President Yudhvir Singh, Kishore Kumar Singh, Distt Secy Pardeep Bhalla, Gen.Sec. Vipan Sharma, Narinder Gupta, Rajesh Bakshi, Romesh Bhagat, Minderlal Bagat, Suresh Sharma, Surinder Sodhi, Krishan Kumar Dogra, Kewal Krishan Sharma, Satinder Singh, Sonu Jatt, Kewal Kumar Dogra, Kartaro Devi, Sushma Bohora, Jyoti Devi, Anita Devi, Sunita Devi, Nirmal Bohora beside others.
Speaking on the ocassioon, Bhalla said that Congress has not left Jammu cause whether in power or out of power. “We have not left the Jammu cause even when we were out of power at the Centre as well as in the State. We are ready and if we are voted to power, this time over, the Congress party will bring the atmosphere in Kashmir to normalcy and will sort out all the issues faced by the commoners”, he said. Bhalla said that Congress won’t let BJP to succeed in divisive politics. “BJP is dividing people on communal, cultural lines. The more there is division in the State, more it is going to benefit the BJP, but the people of J&K are politically mature enough and they won’t let the BJP succeed in what it is designs”, he said.
Bhalla accused the Centre and the state government of creating “uncertainty” over assembly polls.There is a lot of confusion over the issue of conduct of these elections. Both the Centre and the state government have created the confusion. There is no clarity on part of both of them. “The stand of the state government on the issue seems to be fluctuating with every passing hour,” he said.Bhalla said the party is minutely watching the situation and wants the Centre and the state government to clear their stand on whether to conduct these polls or not. “They have themselves created an uncertainty here. We want them to clear the confusion and come out with their stand on whether to conduct the polls or not.”The state administration should put up a credible person before the people and ensure them that it is ready for the polls.
On one hand the government says the environment is not conducive for polls and that is why president’s rule has been imposed, and on the other hand the centre says panchayat elections were carried out peacefully last year, Bhalla said.”Lok Sabha elections were also held in Jammu and Kashmir recently and even they were conducted peacefully. So, when panchayat and parliamentary polls can be conducted, why not state polls,” he asked. “It is high time for the people to defeat the menace of BJP , which is hell bent upon to divide people on religious and regional lines for the sake of power. People have realized that the BJP which is responsible for the agony and anguish of the people and their vote to them will not serve their motive.”He alleged that BJP failed people in every respect. “People have realized that they have been misled by BJP to serve its vested interests, but this time the situation is fairly different as there is a deep alienation among the people due to the betrayal by them,” he added.
“The fire of communalism and polarization that is being fanned and is spreading across the length and breadth of this country needs to be stopped before it engulfs our values and robs us of our rights, our sense of dignity and our special constitutional status,” he added.
Bhalla further said that the core sectors of our economy agriculture and horticulture have totally been neglected by the government. Despite the fact that ours is an agricultural state and major chunk of population is dependent on this sector. The state being vulnerable to natural calamities, crop insurance scheme was not implemented fully so far that can provide respite to the calamity affected kisans. Though the announcement of crop insurance scheme was made by the government, it is unfortunate that the said scheme is not implemented so far here.It is an obligation for the government to come to the support and succor of the farmers as they form the backbone of the state’s economy and have always been suffering on account weather vagaries. The callous attitude of authorities has created uncertainty among peasants.
Bhalla expressed serious concern over the continuous attacks on the livelihood of the vast majority of people by the policies pursued by the BJP government. The prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed, reaching the highest ever levels. Prices of cooking gas have also gone up significantly. He raised issues of unemployment, while also calling for early conduct of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.He said the Congress party is the foundation of secular forces and will always work to keep that spirit alive whether it is in government or in opposition.”Even when out of power, we will continue to work for the upliftment of farmers, labourers and women. There are some issues that the government should pay attention to such as those of the farmers, drought, lack of drinking water, and massive unemployment in the country,” Bhalla said.The government needs to immediately pay attention to unemployment that has increased in the last five years, he asserted.
