Expressing gratitude to the people of Kulgam district for contributing to the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the recent Lok Sabha Polls, the party president, Mehbooba Mufti, Monday said with the impressive mandate in the elections the people of the state have reposed their faith in the PDP and its agenda.
According to a statement issued, while addressing a well-attended public meeting at Kulgam she said the PDP treats people’s mandate as a sacred trust and would treat this as an opportunity to change the lives of the people who have suffered for decades.Mehbooba expressed her gratitude to the voters and general public of Kulgam district, compromising Kulgam, Devsar, Noorabad and Homshalibug segments, for having voted for her and her party to a big win.Senior party leaders Sofi Abdul Gaffar MLA; Mohammad Sartaj Madni MLA; district president Nazir Ahmad Laway; Abdul Majeed Padder, Gulzar Ahmad Dar; Zone presidents Zafrullah Wani, Farooq Ahmad, district youth president Sheraz Ahmad and others were also present and spoke on this occasion.
She said it was a writing on the wall now that the people of the entire state would vote for the PDP to bring in a government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with a clear majority, so that the initiatives of change that had been started in 2002 are carried forward.Mehbooba said the state would have an entirely a new experience of good governance and conflict resolution, if the PDP, which already has three MPs in the parliament, gets a chance to form a stable government at the state level.Referring to the disgusting manner in which the National Conference-led coalition had responded to the defeat in the parliamentary elections, Mehbooba said it seems that the ruling parties have lost their way completely. She said the government is now trying to undone the wrongs, it had committed during last five and a half years, in the name of ‘retrospection’, but it does not care to mention the immense cost it has inflicted on the people as a result of its arrogance, mis-governance, inefficiency, compromises and corruption.
“Would the Omar Abdullah government reverse the silly SMS ban or the so-called recruitment policy, if they had not been defeated in the Lok Sabha elections,” Mehbooba wondered and said the power of vote had finally come to stay in the hands of the people and there was nobody else who could determine the fate of politicians in future. “The days of external life-lines and power conspiracies are over,” she added.The PDP president said the PDP has always considered itself as accountable to the people and it would continue with its people friendly policies. She said while there were immense problems on account of corruption, mis-governance, lack of development and infrastructure building but unemployment problem was the biggest challenge for the next government.
Mehbooba said Omar Abdullah government is leaving behind a mess that is difficult to sort out, but the anti-youth policies pursued by it present us with a huge challenge on employment front and the ways to engage youth along creative channels.Mehbooba said the human resource development had been almost abandoned by the government and the people were forced to sell their lands and assets to fund the education of their children outside the state while the institutions within the state were compromised and the system of examination and entrance to technical institutions subverted for money.
The PDP chief said the political problems facing the state have to be taken head-on and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed would need a decisive mandate to be able to address them and take them up with the national leadership. She said our voice will be heard with respect and reason not only in New Delhi but all across the country. “Our voice for peace could find a resonance even in Islamabad and the neighboring country if PDP is handed down a clear mandate,” she said.Mehbooba said the 2002 Vajpayee initiative withstood severe provocations and serious incidents only because it had originated from Kashmir and former prime minister had responded positively to yearning for peace. That spirit, she said, will have to be revived for a lasting and dignified peace.