Chief Minister and NC Working President Omar Abdullah Tuesday claimed that his party was not only the political custodian of J&K’s honor and political inpiduality but also a repository of thousands of sacrifices that have been rendered ever since National Conference came into being to fight suppression, autocracy and injustice.Addressing public meetings in Rafi Abad, Sangrama, Khansahib and Char-i-Sharif Omar Abdullah said he had unfaltering faith in the grassroots cadre of National Conference which formed an essential line of defense against BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.
The NC Working President highlighted ‘landmark development’ initiatives taken by the NC-led Government during the past six years and said there wasn’t a single sector that hadn’t seen unprecedented growth and transformation. “From the power sector to the tourism sector, our performance speaks for itself. We added nearly 1700 Megawatts of power to the State’s power portfolio while laying the foundation of new projects that would add a further 9,000 Megawatts to the State’s power portfolio in the coming years. Due to these efforts, J&K will finally be self-reliant not only in the power sector but will also become economically self-reliant by selling the surplus power to neighboring States. In stark contrast to this, the PDP-Congress Coalition Government did not add one single megawatt of power to the State’s portfolio and their only visible work in the power sector remained confined to the installation of meters”, Omar said.
He said the NC-led Government’s initiatives in the tourism sector brought a tourism revolution in the State thanks to which hundreds of new hotels came up in the State providing employment to thousands of our youth. “During the PDP-Congress Government’s tenure, the State witnessed a combined tourism inflow of 25 lakh tourists. During the NC-led Government’s tenure our combined tourism inflow over the last six years crossed 55 lakh tourists which is more than double of what we received between 2002 and 2008. This too is a landmark achievement that has had enormous, positive implications on the economy of the State and has given a boost to the handicrafts, retail, horticulture and hospitality sectors while providing a much needed impetus to employment generation”, Omar said.
“These elections represent a contest between honesty and corruption, the truth of our political dignity and the lies of BJP, Congress and PDP. Today those who speak of AFSPA are the same political parties which opposed all demands of National Conference to get AFSPA revoked from the State. It was Congress Pradesh Committee Chief Professor Saifuddin Soz who publically opposed the revocation of AFSPA from J&K while BJP raised a hue and cry every single time my Government approached New Delhi demanding the revocation of the Act. The PDP too scuttled all moves made by National Conference to get AFSPA revoked and played partisan politics on this issue which they should have treated above and beyond politics. Today if AFSPA is still there, PDP, Congress and BJP are squarely responsible. National Conference fought tooth and nail for the revocation of AFSPA and will continue to do so in the future. We seek a strong mandate from you so that National Conference is free of all coalition compulsions and can take such much-needed, strong decisions,” he said.
Omar added National Conference was poised to give a huge surprise to its detractors on the counting day and just like the turnout in the first phase, the turnout in the second phase also represents the will of the people to stand up for the political honor and dignity of the State. The public meetings were also addressed by Party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Senior Leader Abdul Rahim Rather, Javid Ahmed Dar, Mohammad Yaqoob Wani and Manzoor Ahmad Wani.