Sham welcomes Farooq’s regional autonomy statement

Senior Cong leader Sham Lal Sharma addressing public meeting in Akhnoor on Saturday.
Senior Cong leader Sham Lal Sharma addressing public meeting in Akhnoor on Saturday.

* Asks him to place document in public domain

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 22: Welcoming the National Conference president, Farooq Abdullah’s statement on regional autonomy, former minister and senior Congress leader Sham Lal Sharma today asked the senior Abdullah to put this document in public domain.
Addressing public meeting in Akhnoor today, Sharma said that by putting the document in public domain a healthy discussion could be held for the betterment of the state. He said that giving regional autonomy to all the three regions, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, and sub-regions, who have been demanding their right since long, is the only solution to address the developmental needs of these areas.
“We have been advocating this since long to provide regional autonomy to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh so that no region feels discriminated and everybody gets its due share. But now once the Congress party forms Government in the State, providing regional autonomy will be our top most priority,” he added.
Farooq Abdullah few days back had announced that if NC comes back to power regional autonomy will be given within 30 days.
Sharma said that Kashmir-centric National Conference is on same page when it comes to putting an end to the ‘discrimination’ against Jammu region by granting it regional autonomy. It was all due to brewing anger among people of Jammu region against ‘discriminatory’ policies of PDP-BJP Government that other political parties had forwarded the idea of granting regional autonomy to ensure justice to every region, he maintained.
Sharma said that Congress had already incorporated the demand in its election manifestos of 2008 and 2014 Assembly elections. Taking a dig on BJP, Sharma said that before coming into power, both in Centre and State, BJP used to claim that once they will come to power, they will abrogate Art 370.
Sharma, welcomed Abdullah’s statement and want him to put the document in public domain so that people would also know as what NC has to offer them.