Avtar Bhat
REASI, Feb 18: Making a scathing attack on Kashmir “mainstream” leaders, Union Minister , Dr Jitendra Singh today said that instead of targeting separatist, Hurriyat Conference which has brought the Jammu and Kashmir State to the path of destruction in last three decades, they (Kashmiri leaders) lose no moment to criticize nationalist BJP on every available platform.
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Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function on PM-Kissan Yojana here, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is an interesting paradox that National Conference (NC), PDP and Kashmir-based Congress leaders lose no opportunity to denounce BJP, whether they are issuing a press statement or giving a TV byte or participating in a debate on any private channel, but these leaders do not utter a single word of condemnation or criticism against Hurriyat leaders, even indirectly who have proven cases of Hawala transactions, instigation of terrorism and anti-India activities, he added.
He said there can be no greater betrayal of lack of courage and conviction on the part of these so called mainstream Kashmiri leaders than the fact that they choose BJP as a soft target for political attack but are always kind or apologetic while referring to Hurriyat leaders who have NIA cases and other high level investigations going on against them, based on sedition charges and links with Pakistan.
The Union Minister said that not to speak of direct criticism of Hurriyat, these mainstream parties of Kashmir even hesitate and are scared of making the indirect criticism against the separatists.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, earlier the so called mainstream Kashmir leaders were following the practice of selective condemnation of terrorism by targeting security forces but never mentioning the terrorists, but now, of late, they have also started the practice of selective political criticism by cleverly avoiding any reference to separatists or Hurriyat. Even on their Twitter handles, these so called mainstream leaders take pot shots at everybody else but sheepishly avoid making any mention of Hurriyat or separatists or even Pakistan, he added.
Even after the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, Dr Jitendra Singh alleged, the vague condemnation by the so called mainstream Kashmir leaders was made purely to go on record, but the phrases used were ambiguous, generalized and philosophical, without mentioning Pakistan or Hurriyat.
While reacting to the statement of N C president and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah calling for political solution to Kashmir issue, Dr Jitendra Singh said the only political solution to the Kashmir issue is joint Parliament resolution of 1994 which calls for retrieving of PoJK which is under forcible occupation of Pakistan.
He said the terrorism has to be fought with strong might and no leniency should be shown to the terrorists. “The political solution can’t be found till other side shuns the path of violence and leaves the gun”, he added.
Earlier, Dr Jitendra Singh reviewed the progress of preparing lists of potential beneficiaries of PM-Kissan Yojana, which is to be officially launched by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on February 24 this year. He expressed satisfaction that nearly 25,000 farmers have already been registered in the district and the process of registration of rest of over 1000 farmers was going on at a fast pace.
He said the Prime Minister’s Kissan Samman Nidhi Yojna is not like previous Governments to give loans to farmers just for their exploitation but the scheme is aimed at giving Samman (honour) to farmers.
He said during previous Governments names of beneficiaries were fake as such names were included which were not existing any where while the schemes made by Modi Government are foolproof and farmer friendly. He said under PM’s Kissan Samman Yojna the first instalment will be released before code of conduct.
Dr Jitendra Singh also asked district authorities to constitute Farmers Grievances Cell. The manual thus prepared on farmers grievances will become a research based project for the Department, he added.
He also suggested that the land in between different farms which has been abandoned can also be utilised for growing off season crop. He said the Government of India is trying to create separate Fisheries Ministry so that farmers can be involved in related vocations after harvesting. He also stressed on giving integrated farming training to farmers and utilisation of modern technology.
He said with the establishment of Seed Processing Plant in Jammu region the farmers will get quality seed on cheap rates besides, research will also be performed there on latest varieties of seeds.
In his interaction with the farmers and Sarpanches and Panches, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is the most unique scheme in the world, introduced through the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is quite different from the loan waiver programmes for farmers announced by the past governments simply with an eye on electoral gains. Through this scheme, he said, every medium or low-strata farmer will get an amount of Rs.6,000/- every year, which will not only offer him financial help, but will also give him a sense of dignity and self-esteem.
Advisor to Governor S. Skandan, in his address, termed the Kissan as first citizen of the country and the basic foundation of the State. He said two important schemes brought for development of agriculture sector one is Farmers Insurance Scheme and another is PM’s Kissan Samman Nidhi Yojna, which will be directly beneficial to farmers while other schemes are for development of Agriculture Sector. He, while terming verification of 25,000 farmers in Reasi district a good step stressed that the process of verification should be completed by February 22.
Former Minister, Ajay Nanda also spoke on the occasion. He said the schemes launched by Narendra Modi Government for welfare of farmers have never been introduced previously. During last over four years over 100 welfare schemes were launched by Modi Government, he added.
Additional DCs Ramesh Chander and Rajinder Sharma besides Chief Agriculture Officer Onkar Singh Choudhary also gave a briefing to the Union Minister and Advisor on the schemes while the programme was compared by Rajesh Verma, SDO Agriculture.
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