Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Feb 7: Demanding holding of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Apni Party president, Syed Mohd Altaf Bukhari has strongly condemned anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir which has forced people out from agricultural land, residential houses and shops.
“The people have become helpless due to the harsh rule of Lt Governor in which public concern is not given any heed. The anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir has displaced poor families from the land where they had invested hard earned money. The poor people are dependent on the land being retrieved by the administration across the J&K,” Bukhari said while addressing a public rally at Muttal Panchayat in district Udhampur today.
He condemned the showcasing of bulldozers as a symbol of power in J&K and said that this issue should be left for the elected Govt to decide.
“The Govt should end the anti-encroachment drives immediately which have affected the poor and marginalized section of society,” he said.
“The Government is expected to work for the welfare of the people but not to create problems. This drive must be stopped so that it can be decided by an elected Govt,” Bukhari added.
He demanded that the Assembly elections must be held without further delay and Statehood also be restored. “The land which is being snatched from the people actually belongs to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We will not allow outsiders to grab the land,” he asserted.
He also referred to the under development in Udhampur and its remote villages and demanded that the developmental issues must be addressed by the Govt.
He appealed to the people of Udhampur to extend their support to the Apni Party candidates.
“If Apni Party gets the opportunity to form the next Govt in J&K, we will work for the public welfare irrespective of region, religion or other differences. We will generate employment opportunities, promote unexplored tourism spots and develop underdeveloped areas with the participation of the people,” he added.
Bukhari promised free of cost 500 units of electricity during summer season and 300 units during winters in Jammu region if his party is voted to power. He said under Ujjwala scheme we will provide 4 cooking gas cylinders per year, old age pension and widow pension will be enhanced up to Rs 5000 per month, we will also give Rs 1 lakh for the marriage of the girls within 30 days of scheduled marriage ceremony, he added.
Party vice president, Ch Zulfkar Ali congratulated Sarpanch Makhan Lal who has got overwhelming support from the people in Udhampur.
“J&K was a Dogra State which has a border from Lakhanpur to Gilgit – Baltistan. Unfortunately, the state has been downgraded to the Union Territory from a historic state, unilaterally without the involvement of the people of the state,” said Zulfkar Ali.
He said nine years have passed but no elections for legislative assembly have been held in J&K. We have reached a point where we perhaps require standing against this.
Provincial president, Jammu, Manjit Singh, Ex-MLA Faqir Nath also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various issues with regard to the development, poor health and educational institutional facilities in the rural belt of Udhampur.
Prominent among those who spoke and attended the rally include- Hans Raj Dogra, Ex-MLA Prem Lal, Dr Rohit Gupta, Bodh Raj Bhagat, Ajaz Kazmi, Raqeeq Ahmed Khan, Abhay Bakaya, Vipul Bali, Vikram Rathore and others.
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