Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 9: Senior National Conference (NC) leader and former minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today assailed the BJP for delivering just lip service to the PoJK displaced persons (DPs) instead of paying any heed to the recommendations of the then State Government led by Omar Abdullah with regard to provision of one-time settlement of Rs 25 lakh per family to 31619 displaced families.
“The NC led Government had made a conscious decision during a cabinet meeting in 2014 by recommending a package for the PoJK displaced persons of 1947, 1965 and 1971 involving around Rs 9025 crore but the Centre out rightly rejected it and arbitrarily announced a meager Rs 2,000 crore for payment of far reduced rate of compensation at the rate of Rs 5.50 lakh per family, which too is not implemented in letter and spirit”, Sadhotra said while welcoming prominent political activists into the NC fold at a function held at Lower Muthi here.
The former minister criticized the BJP for false slogans besides rhetoric on every crucial issue and said that the way the PoJK displaced persons have been treated speaks volumes about its insensitivity towards their plight. They have suffered hugely over the decades and deserved a much better deal. He urged the Union Government to revisit and review the one-time settlement for displaced persons of PoJK by invoking the recommendations of Omar Abdullah led Government and take earnest measures in enhancing the compensation.
Sadhotra asserted that the NC is committed to plead the cause of PoJK displaced persons and said their welfare is a priority for the party. He sought inclusion of 5,300 PoJK families also in the package who are living outside J&K, as they have been kept outside the ambit of the package. He also favoured the demand for formation of Jammu and Kashmir Board for the welfare of PioJK displaced persons.
Prominent among those who joined the party include Bhagwan Dass Sharma, Ex Naib Sarpanch Pawan Sharma, Mahesh Sharma, Prabhu Dayal Sharma, Madan Lal Sharma, Neelam Sharma, Sudesh Kumari, Darshana, Sharda Kumari and Anu Devi. Others who spoke on the occasion were Ghar Singh (Corporator), Raghuvir Singh Manhas (district president), Randhir Singh Jamwal (district secretary), Rakesh Sharma, Darshana Devi Bhagat and Randhir Singh Chib.
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