Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 4: Over 30 Kashmiri Pandit youth today joined the Apni Party (AP) here at Gandhi Nagar. The joining programme was organized at the party office in an impressive function organised by Abhay Bakaya, State general secretary of its Youth Wing, and Shoukat Ahmed youth activist from Ganderbal.
Vijay Bakaya, general secretary, Apni Party while welcoming the youth into the party, exhorted them to spread its ideology of development of all areas and cross sections of the population of J&K without making false promises and focusing on achievable goals.
He said the displacement of the KP community was a monumental tragedy but the manner in which the community had endured it was exemplary. The wounds of uprooting were deep and still hurt but the community had moved ahead.
He said there were many families which had no income other than relief of 13 thousand rupees which was an increase of just 12000 in 30 years over the initial relief of 1000 rupees sanctioned in 1990. He demanded that this relief be increased to at least 25 thousand rupees which would be barely sufficient to make the family of 4 to live with dignity.
He suggested that their vote after migration had no value as it was counted in Kashmir while they were living here. None the less he said the community should exercise its right to vote and register its presence in the political arena.
Bakaya stated that the Apni Party wanted the return of KPs worth honour and dignity but according to a roadmap which would be prepared in consultation with representatives of the Community.
The other leaders who were present on the occasion included Vikram Malhotra general secretary, Apni Party, Manjit Singh, provincial president Apni Party, Namrta Sharma Provincial president Women Wing, Faqir Nath Ex-MLA, Pranav Shagotra coordinator central, Aijaz Kazmi president State Trade Union, Raqeeq Ahmed Khan vice president Youth Wing, Gaurav Kapoor, provincial president, Youth Wing Vijendar Dutta, Vaibhav Mattoo, R K Lalotra, Tejinder Singh, Vinod Pandita, Vishal Jotshi, Shabir Kohli, Joginder Singh, Sohail Khajuria, Farooq and JK Singh.
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