Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 25: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today said PDP has come into the field with sincerity of purpose and over the years it has evolved a practical and achievable agenda for political resolution and economic development of the State.
Addressing a public meeting at Ukhral in Banihal constituency, he said apart from over all development of the State the PDP agenda would pay attention to a focused development of backward and topographically difficult regions of the State.
Mufti said PDP’s vision is by now sufficiently introduced in the public domain and gaining acceptability and the fact that “we donot indulge in hollow rhetoric is borne out by our performance both in Govt and in opposition”. He said the political resolution and economic development of the state have to go hand in hand and neither can be achieved in isolation.
Advocating an incremental progress in addressing the external dimension of Kashmir problem, Mufti said he can in the wake of Pakistan elections sense the emergence of an atmosphere conducive to an amicable resolution. He said in this context the upcoming elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly too would be of crucial importance.
He said the emergence of a decisive voice from Jammu & Kashmir will go a long way in determining the course of future progress on political front. In this context, he referred to the unprecedented measures taken under the previous PDP- Congress coalition even though PDP had got only 16 seats in the Assembly.
“With a decisive mandate it is reasonable to hope that PDP with the support of people and other stake holders would be able to push for an amicable settlement of out standing issues that could lead to a peaceful resolution”, Mufti said.
Mufti said the state is facing tremendous challenges and problems which have partly been inherited from the past but severely accentuated by the incompetence, inefficiency and misgovernance of the present dispensation. These problems are not of such nature as could not be solved, Mufti said and pointed to the rich natural and human resources which could be utilized for welfare of people and development of infrastructure. He said the power crisis, lack of employment opportunities, corruption and a pathetic deficit in health and education sectors are the issues that need to be addressed seriously.
Referring to the specific problems of Chenab region, Mufti said even though it is the richest area in water, scenic assets, forest and mineral resources the economic condition of the people living there represents the failure of our system to harness these resources and bring a change in the lives of common people. He said even after six and a half decades of independence many areas in the region do not have a road connectivity not to speak of amenities for health and education.
Paying rich tributes to a prominent son of the soil from Ukhral, the late Devi Dass Thakur, Mufti said if the PDP was elected to power it would establish a college at Ukhral to commemorate DD Thakur. Senior party leader and former Deputy Speaker Mohammad Sartaj Madni, District President Ramban Ab Ahad Wani, General Secretary Youth Showkat Deng, Thakur Harim Om retired, Session Judge were among others who spoke on the occasion.
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