Decrying political opportunists for exploiting weaker segments of society to further their electoral interests, Provincial President Mr Devender Singh Rana on Monday said that National Conference has all along worked for their welfare and dignity.“In fact, National Conference has been a movement of the weaker sections”, he said while addressing a large gathering of workers on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti at Mishriwalla, near here this afternoon, adding that Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohamned Abdulah pioneered several initiatives to ameliorate the lot of the under privileged people. In this context, he made a particular reference of various initiatives that empowered lakhs of people and brought cheer in their lives. “This initiative gained momentum over the years which brought about a discernible change in the living conditions of poor people,” he said adding that Jammu and Kashmir is perhaps the only state in the country where everybody has a roof to live under. Otherwise, the condition is precarious in several other states, where the poor people are forced to live on footpaths. He also reminded the people about the great role played by National Conference in generating awareness among various segments about their rights.
The Provincial President exhorted the weaker sections to unite under one banner and strive for their justified rights. National Conference, he said will remain in the forefront, as it has been always in the past, to mitigate their problems. He referred to setting up of Development Board for Other Backward Classes and said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wanted various segments of the society to get benefitted in a big way.Mr Rana dwelt upon various measures to make the administration responsive to the public needs. He said while the Right to Information Act empowers the people to ask questions, even from the Chief Minister, the Public Services Guarantee Act makes the administrative apparatus responsible for redresasing their grievances in time bound manner.
Rana lauded the important role of skilled and unskilled work force in overall development of the State, saying there contribution has remained unparalleled“It is simply unimaginable to think of infrastructural development without the work force like masons, carpenters, plumbers and others associated with various skills”, he said.Congratulating the workers on Vishwakarma Diwas, Mr Rana said that the demand to declare this auspicious day as holiday will be taken up with the Chief Minister. He hoped that all the organizations will show synergy in getting this done by pursuing the matter vigorously.MLA Raipur Domana, Mr Bharat Bushan, Vice President JKNC Rattan Lal Gupta, former MLA Satpal Lakhotra, President Pradesh Vishavkarma Sabha Satpal Verma were among those who addressed the gathering. Those who were present on the occasion included Block President KD Singh, Abdul Gani Teli, Darshan Singh, Dhrampal Kataria, Mangal Dass, Vijay Kumar, Hari Chand, Yaspal and others.