Cong to observe black day on ‘UT Divas’: PCC chief

JKPCC chief, VR Wani, flanked by Raman Bhalla & Ravinder Sharma at a party meeting in Rajouri on Wednesday.
JKPCC chief, VR Wani, flanked by Raman Bhalla & Ravinder Sharma at a party meeting in Rajouri on Wednesday.

Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Oct 25: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Vikar Rasool Wani today declared that Congress will observe black day on BJP’s UT Divas and slammed the BJP’s move to celebrate `UT Divas’ despite failing to restore statehood and democratic process in J&K even after promising on the floor of the house.
Wani was addressing a district level worker’s meeting at Rajouri. He was accompanied by JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla, JKPCC senior vice president and chief spokesperson, Ravinder Sharma, vice president Sain Abdul Rashid, Mahila president Shameema Raina, general secretary Abid Ajaz. The meeting was organized by DCC president and former Minister Shabir Ahmad Khan.
JKPCC chief and other senior party leaders reviewed the organizational affairs and activities in the district and also received feedback with regard to socio-political scenario obtaining in the district. Various issues of public importance especially lack of development, joblessness, economic backwardness etc also came under discussion.
On the occasion JKPCC chief expressed surprise over the BJP’s move to celebrate UT Divas while declaring that Congress Party will observe black day on this day to register its protest against down-grading of full-fledged State into two UTs and snatching democratic rights of people by a stroke of pen.
Referring to the setback to developmental process, Wani termed twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch most neglected on all fronts and blamed the BJP Govt for failing to fulfil the promises made to people of J&K after downgrading of J&K. He said it is surprising that BJP is celebrating downgrading of full-fledged state and termed it a deliberate move to divert the attention of public from the failures on the part of BJP. He said BJP is aware of its defeat with the result that elections are being delayed to buy more time.
Working president Raman Bhalla said that the developmental process not only in Poonch- Rajouri districts but in the entire J&K has received severe setbacks. There is no policy with regard to curbing unemployment and addressing various other developmental issues. Though many tall claims day in and day out are being made, nothing has changed; rather unemployment has risen considerably, no development has taken place, economic distress has engulfed the entire J&K during these nine-year rule of BJP.
Party senior vice president and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma asked the BJP Govt as to what measures they have taken with regard to Jammu- Poonch railway line initiated by the UPA Govt? He said BJP has abandoned Jammu- Poonch Railway line, same is the situation with other projects sanctioned by UPA regimes.
DCC president Shabir Khan urged the Party workers to work hard to further strengthen the Congress Party while emphasizing them to reach out to people and highlight their problems.
Prominent among who addressed included Iftikhar Ahmed, Shakeel Mir, Khushal Bali, Ashok Sharma, Sajad Tariq, Lalit Mahajan, Rajesh Gupta, Anil Chopra, Isher Singh, Ayaz Kataria and NC Sharma.