Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 25: J&K National Conference, Provincial President Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta today said that secularism was under threat from certain divisive forces that were hell-bent on destroying it for their own vested interests.
In a statement, issued here today, the NC leader asserted that Jammu and Kashmir has always been an epitome of secularism but certain divisive forces were now hell bent to destroy the same for their vested interests.
Without naming anyone, he said that a political party on the forefront in this regard was leaving no stone unturned in dividing the people in J&K to fulfill its political agenda of establishing its Government in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that every attempt is being made to divide the communities which have been living together since decades, but the National Conference cadre right from the grass roots level to the top will not allow such elements to succeed in their divisive endeavours.
Rattan Lal Gupta, while castigating the Govt at the Centre as well as the Union Territory Administration for bringing only miseries for the common people, said that the economy of J&K has made a nose dive and is continuously going down due to the hollow policies of BJP Government and its proxy rule in this Union Territory.
Not only this, he added, the unemployment rate has gone rocketing high during the BJP regime. “As per the figures of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate which was nearly 4.1 per cent in 2013-14, has now reached 23.1 in J&K which is a cause of serious concern and craves for immediate solution,” he said and added that even the per capita income has fallen considerably in Jammu and Kashmir.
Asserting that there is a need to remain united at this crucial juncture, Rattan Lal Gupta appealed the party cadre and the people to defeat these divisive forces and uphold the secular credentials of this region at all costs. He also appealed people to support NC candidates in the impending ULB and Panchayat polls in J&K to get rid of all the miseries thrust upon them by the Central Government.