Amid total shut-down in Mendhar Township along Line of Control against abject failure of PDP-BJP Government on all fronts, National Conference on Thursday said the people were finding themselves at the cross roads of history with lack of direction and will to govern compounding the perception of political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir.According to a statement issued to KNS, addressing huge rally at the border town this afternoon, National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana and MLA Javed Rana said that the hope of inclusive development and political reconciliation have been taken over by despair, as the unholy PDP-BJP alliance has failed to satiate the urges and aspirations of people.Devender Singh Rana said the slogans of change and Ache Din have proven hoax and the coalition partners have reneged on every single statement and promise they made during elections, which they fought as per clandestine understanding. “Having bitterly campaigned against each other by exploiting regional and religious sentiments, the PDP and BJP ultimately surrendered their much trumpeted stands just for petty trappings of political power. “They fought elections like a fixed match and are continuing to play to the galleries by whipping up passions as per a well chalked out strategy”, he said, adding that this duplicity and insincerity has brought the state to morass. He said the people are suffering due to developmental inertia, as the present dispensation has not only abandoned the schemes initiated by the Omar Abdullah led government but also failed to take up new projects as per needs of the people.
Referring to traumatic situation being faced by border dwellers due to intermittent ceasefire violations and skirmishes, the Provincial President said the alarming security scenario calls for thaw between Indo-Pak relations. If ceasefire agreement arrived during the tenure of Atal Behari Vajpayee could work for over a decade why can’t a similar initiative be taken to end hostilities and pave way for peace, he asked, saying the two neighbouring countries have no option but to talk, notwithstanding jingoistic posturing by the two sides. He said the beneficiaries of the Indo-Pak reconciliation will be the people of Jammu and Kashmir in general and those living alongside Line of Control and International Border in particular. In this context, Rana referred to inspiring words of Vajpayee that friends can be changed but not the neighbours and said if it is so then what stops the two nations to talk to each other.Rana expressed concern over concerted attempts of the coalition partners to polarise situation in order to hide their failures on governance front. While development has been pushed to back burners, grievances of the people on account of scare rations, erratic power and drinking water supply and availability of minimum basics have added to their woes.
Speaking on the occasion, senior leader and MLA Javed Rana said the total shut-down in the town is a wake-up call for the insensitive and irresponsible PDP-BJP Government, which has neglected the entire Pir Panchal region in a systematic manner. “Though development deficit is a state-wide phenomenon yet the twin district of Poonch and Rajouri were suffering from governmental attention on all fronts”, he said and termed the Mendhar Bandh as referendum against the coalition government.Javed Rana highlighted sector-wise deficiencies accrued and accumulated during the past over 20 months and said the semblance of the government is not seen anywhere on ground. “Due to lack of political direction, the administration too is finding itself clueless with regard to responding to the needs of the people”, he said and warned that public patience should not be tested anymore.The MLA Mendhar said that Pir Panchal region has witnessed unprecedented drought this year that has broken the backbone of farming community. “Their hard toil has gone waste and therefore there is need to declare the entire region as drought hit area”, he said and sought compensation for the farmers. He stressed the need for holistic survey of the region to assess the extent of damages so that the affected people are adequately compensated.Rana also highlighted local problems and held out an ultimatum to the coalition government for redressing these lest the people will be forced to take to streets.Prominent among those present on the occasion included Abdul Rahim Daas, Anil Dhar, Shaffayat Khan, Choudhry Showkat, Ch Nazir Advocate, Zeeshan Rana, Advocate Farid, Aftab Choudhry, Rafiq Khan, Qazi Farooq, Choudhry Iftikhar, Parveen Sahni and others. (KNS)