Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 11: Maintaining that the National Conference will resist the BJP move of including 25 lakh outside voters in Jammu and Kashmir, former minister and senior NC leader Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today questioned the intent of the Centre in depriving the people of their identity and culture bartering their rights on lands and jobs.
“Exposed over anti-J&K machinations, the BJP took refuge in seeking the transfer of the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K who made public the game-plan of including 25 lakh new voters to disempower the people,” Sadhotra said while addressing a public meeting, presided over by Thakur Khajoor Singh Manhas at Patoli in Jammu North Assembly constituency.
The NC leader hailed the resolve of the all-party meet held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Dr Farooq Abdullah in denouncing the proposed move of inclusion of non-J&K voters and fighting it out unitedly. He said mere transfer of an official of the Election Commission is not a guarantee that the BJP will shed its nefarious agenda of vitiating democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The alarming proposed rise in the electorate now is a malicious and calculated measure to trample the permanent residents of both the Jammu and Kashmir Provinces. This is yet another assault after repealing the special status and dividing the State into two Union Territories,” he said and added that by such a move, the Dogras, Kashmiris, Paharis, Gujjars, Sikhs will lose their political space with the Assembly going into the hands of the outsiders.
The NC leader stressed that the time has come for all to stand united and fight out the anti-people machinations peacefully and democratically.
Expressing the apprehension of Jammu region getting hugely disempowered in view of the influx of the construction and allied workers here than any other part of the erstwhile State, the NC leader reiterated that the right to vote should be exclusively for the people of J&K for being locals and such a right cannot be bestowed upon those temporarily staying here in pursuit of their livelihood.
Others who addressed the meeting, included Ghar Singh Chib Corporator, Rakesh Sharma, Pahalwan, Onkar Singh Manhas, Sewa Ram, Anupam Singh Manhas, Rajinder Kumar, Jagveer Singh, Rinku Chowdhary, Shanna Sharma, Capt Devi Dayal, Amreek Singh, Dr Rajinder Sharma and Gurnam Singh.
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