Cong reminds PM of Statehood promise
Give UT of Ladakh Legislature: Digvijay
Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, July 23: Alleging that ‘unelected people’ are ruling over elected public representatives in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress today announced that it will intensify its movement for the restoration of the Statehood to the Jammu and Kashmir which has been directed by the Supreme Court of India and repeatedly committed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the people of the erstwhile State.
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Addressing a press conference at the AICC office in the Union capital here today, senior Congress leaders including party general secretary and J&K CLP leader GA Mir, former MP /Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, general secretary in-charge J&K and Ladakh Dr Naseer Hussain and chief spokesperson J&K PCC Ravinder Sharma today said that the common man was suffering in the UT as he was being tossed between the Chief Minister’s Secretariat and the Raj Bhawan.
AICC In-charge for J&K and Ladakh , Dr Naseer Hussain alleged that despite elected Government in Jammu and Kashmir, all the powers are still lying with the office of the Lt Governor. The common man is suffering badly as the democratically elected popular Government has been rendered powerless in Jammu and Kashmir.
” It was unprecedented that the powers of the elected representatives were with the unelected people like the Lieutenant Governor. Once the powers are restored to the elected Government, only then will the people of J&K come to know what sort of scams took place during the regime of unelected people- like the sand and land scams,” AICC general secretary said.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh disclosed that although the Congress was the coalition partner of the ruling National Conference, the party had taken a principled stand not to join the Government till the Statehood was restored. He said, the Congress has made certain promises to people of Jammu and Kashmir, including the restoration of Statehood and it is working towards that by launching a mass movement.
Singh noted that there was a strange situation in Jammu and Kashmir where an elected CM was being stopped by the J&K Police and prevented from offering prayers. “He is being made helpless. No file moves ahead without the approval of the LG”, he pointed out, while asserting this must change as not only have the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister promised to restore the Statehood, even the Supreme Court of India has directed the same. He also demanded that the Union Territory of Ladakh be made like the UTs of Delhi and Puducherry with its own elected Legislature.
AICC general secretary, G A Mir recalled that in June 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called a meeting of the representatives of all the political parties of Jammu and Kashmir and suggested delimitation, election and then restoration of Statehood in that order. He said, although most of the political representatives had demanded the restoration of Statehood before elections, he (the PM) had insisted on delimitation, followed by elections, and then Statehood.
The CLP leader said while the delimitation exercise has been completed with election also held and an elected Government in place for the last about nine months, the Government of India is yet to fulfill its promise of restoring Statehood. He said, the Congress has since day one, August 5, 2019 maintained that the Statehood to J&K must be restored.
He pointed out that Rahul Gandhi while wrapping up his 4000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar along with the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, had also committed that the party will ensure restoration of the Statehood. He appreciated the top party leadership for keeping J&K’s Statehood issue on top of the agenda.
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