National Conference has termed PDP's belated noises on Srinagar as efforts to conceal PDP’s guilt for harboring political animosity against the people of this historic city and for criminally neglecting the developmental needs of Srinagar during their tenure. National Conference has said those PDP leaders who are waxing eloquent about “socio-economic change” today should first and foremost clarify why they plotted to rob Srinagar of its political, cultural and economic centrality by shifting the State’s capital from Srinagar to Parishaspora in Pattan against all planning and economic logic and rationality solely to benefit a senior PDP leader who owns large tracts of land there.
Speaking to various delegations of college students and youth activists from both Srinagar and South Kashmir during a youth interaction with NC Spokesman at Party Headquarters at Nawa-e-Subah Complex in Srinagar today, NC Spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu said that NC Working President and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a comprehensive and progressive vision for the development of Srinagar as a modern, growing city and the simultaneous development of rural areas in fields of education, healthcare, public infrastructure, roads and buildings. “Unlike PDP, NC believes in the holistic development of the State and does not favor urban areas against rural areas or vice-versa. We believe in the fundamental rights of every single citizen of J&K to good governance and economic prosperity, whether he resides in Srinagar or in a far-flung village in the rural hinterland. Our track-record in terms of governance reflects our equal treatment of all demographics, castes, regions and sub-regions of the State without any bias”, Mattu said while asking the youth activists to defeat PDP’s designs to turn people in urban and rural areas against each other for petty, short-term political interests.
Speaking to the youth activists, Junaid Azim Mattu said that PDP, which is today shamelessly harping about “socio-economic” change, did the greatest damage to the social fabric of the State while simultaneously pushing the State into the throes of economic instability and dependence. “You should ask some very important questions to these soothsayers and philosophers who are busy selling half-baked dreams to the people despite PDP’s dismal track-record in the context of development when they were in power. Why did PDP tactically stall the Urban Reforms Bill thereby causing the State enormous losses – especially a damage in the pace of development in not only Srinagar but also towns across the State? Why do PDP leaders say one thing in rural areas and something completely different in urban areas? Where is PDP’s vision of “social change” when it has given mandates to those who have applied for wine shop licenses and have serious accusations of criminal corruption against them? Where was PDP’s concern for “economic change” when it chose to push the State into economic penury and beggary by not laying the edifice for one single power project in the State?”, the NC Spokesman said.
The NC Spokesman said that the Omar Abdullah Government has made huge strides in the areas of Public Health Engineering, Water Supply, Roads and Bridges, Power Infrastructure and has given the private sector and tourism sector a boost through its policies and initiatives. “Look around Srinagar and other towns across the State and see how many new Shopping Centers, Retail Outlets and Hotels have come up generating hundreds and thousands of new jobs. The youth today cannot be misguided by hollow rhetoric and brainwashing. It just takes a cursory look to see how much development has taken place in the last five and a half years. You should dispel the lies of PDP and educate your fellow citizens about huge strides made by this government in developing the State under the dynamic leadership of Omar Abdullah”, the NC Spokesman said.The NC Spokesman said that the Omar Abdullah Government has similarly achieved enormous and landmark progress in Rural Areas and has empowered the people through decentralization and liberalization of power through the Panchayati Raj System - giving them the power, the resources and the wherewithal to ensure the equitable development of their respective areas. (KNS)