Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU / KATHUA , May 26: Lashing out at the opposition parties for misleading the border area people on the “5 Marla plots issue, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today, it is on record that the demand was first raised by the BJP when it did not have a Government either at the Centre or the State and at that time, not only the then National Conference-Congress Government had ignored this demand but, on one occasion, had even ordered detention of the BJP Karyakartas who were agitating near the Zero line on the border.
Narrating the chronology of events, Dr Jitendra Singh said, soon after the Modi Government took over in 2014, the proposal for allotting 5 Marla plot each to every border area family was moved and in the process, a piece of land measuring 80 kanal was also identified near Hiranagar, but, just then, the security forces requested that the move be deferred, for the time being, because it ran the risk of the borders getting deserted and therefore, to begin with, construction of “Shelter Homes was contemplated, which is now being taken up.
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He said, BJP, as a patriotic organisation, is committed to accord highest priority to the concerns of the security forces, unlike Congress and its allies, who are always waiting for an opportunity to fish in troubled waters, even if it is at the cost of the national interest.
“It is because of the six decade rule by the Congress and its allies that we are facing the present situation on the borders”, said Dr Jitendra Singh and added, now by trying to be “more loyal than the king”, these leaders are either exposing their own lack of home-work on the issue or blissfully believe that their sins have been forgotten by all.
Dr Jitendra Singh was speaking to media persons soon after his arrival from the Union capital this morning, before he left for an extensive tour of the Pak firing affected areas along the International Border (IB) in Kathua,Hiranagar and Samba. He also visited the bereaved families of those killed in Pak shelling.
At village Londi, Dr Jitendra Singh visited the house of deceased Ram Paul and expressed condolence to his wife Sudesh Kumari and other members of the family. He said, a new house will be constructed for the family, Sahil, the son of the deceased Ram Paul will be provided a job and the two daughters will be supported for a skill training to earn livelihood.
At Bainglarh, Dr Jitendra Singh visited the house of Vijay Kumar, the father of 11 year old deceased child Master Krishna and also the house of Bahadur Lal who had lost his wife Shammu Devi in shelling. He offered support for the education of the children of deceased families.
Dr Jitendra Singh also announced to donate a medical ambulance from his MP Fund which will be available permanently for the people in and around Hiranagar. He said, he had suggested to the State Government to extend the reservation in jobs and educational Institutions to the people living along International Border, on the same lines as it is available to the people living along the LoC.
Dr Jitendra Singh, who was accompanied, among others, by Health Minister Dr Devender Manyal, MLA Kuldeep Raj, Divisional Commissioner Hemant Sharma, IGP S D Jamwal, prominent local leaders Prem Nath Dogra, Sanjeev Sharma and others, suggested that an SOP (Standing Operative Procedure) must be put in place so that in case of sudden outbreak of firing and shelling from across the border, the relief, rehabilitation and medical aid mechanism can become smoothly functional without any confusion and without wasting any time.
“Even the visits of the political leaders to the firing affected areas should be regulated, so that each such visit has some constructive value instead of just offering a media byte”, he added.
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