Avtar Bhat
—Excelsior/Rakesh
KATHUA/RS Pura, Aug 25: Maintaining that J&K is a sensitive border State, the BJP National president, Amit Shah today pitched for the formation of a “nationalist Government’’ in the State and to end the dynastic politics.
Addressing Party rally at Ramlila Ground here and border migrants who have been forced to flee from their native villages on account of heavy Pak shelling and were camping in Government schools at R S Pura and Slaid, Bishnah , Mr Shah said that formation of “nationalist Government’’ in the State was need of the hour to strengthen unity and integrity of the country.“ Only a BJP led Government will rid the people of the State of all the problems they are confronted at present’’, he added.
Mr Shah who is the first national leader to visit the border to have at and on spot study of the problems of the people there caused due to continuous Pak firing appealed the people to give a decisive mandate to BJP in coming Assembly elections to achieve its Mission 44+ so that West Pak refugees, refugees of 1947, 65, 71 and 1990 get justice.
The border people have not only lauded his gesture but said that they have pinned high hopes in present Union Government and are optimistic that it will settle their issue once for all.
Expressing concern over the discrimination to which the Jammu region was subjected to by the successive Governments since 1947, Mr Shah assured the masses that BJP once coming to power in the State will end this discrimination once for all. He regretted that the West Pak refugees have been deprived of citizenship rights so far.
“The world progressed a lot but it is a pity that West Pak refugees have still been deprived of their rights’’, he said. The BJP stalwart assured the people that after its Government comes to power in the State, it will take effective steps in resolving these problems once for all.
Mr Shah, while recalling the progress made by other BJP ruled States in the country, said that people in these States get 24 hour power supply, water supply and they don’t face such grave problems which are confronted to the people in this border State. So the people here should throw these two dynasties Abdullahs and Muftis out and install a BJP Government in the State, he added.
Mr Shah, who was on his maiden visit to the State after becoming Party president last month sought to woo the voters ahead of Assembly elections. He said party will help get justice to the people of the region as it has been given step motherly treatment by the successive Governments during the last 60 years.
Maintaining that he has come here with the message of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Party, who wish that State should usher in an era of development and make progress like other States of country, Mr Shah said his Party is fighting to make “Congress Mukt Bharat’’ (Congress free India) and being integral part of India people of J&K have to fight to make the State free from both Abdullahs and Muftis.
Making a scathing attack on Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s remarks that “good days’’ have come as shelling has started on borders, Mr Shah said this way Mr Abdullah taunted BJP without knowing that Indian forces have also given a befitting reply to enemy.
He said instead of looking into the problems of the border migrants, Chief Minister was rubbing salt on their wounds. He asked the Chief Minister that did any representative of his Government or he visited these people to ascertain their problems of border people.
“Had not Chief Minister, the days of whose Government are now numbered, any responsibility towards these people,” he asked? and added that Mr Abdullah should discharge his responsibility fully.
He said the Government which showed unconcern when the langars of Swami Amarnath pilgrims were torched and which did not allow the Kounsarnag pilgrimage from Valley has no right to stay in office.
He asked the people of the State that they should not consider themselves alone in these elections as people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and entire Modi Government was with them. He also highlighted some steps taken by the Modi led Government for the development of the country in last three months including inauguration of train to Mata Vaishno Devi, Transmission line to Leh etc.
During the rally two time Congress MP and former Minister Choudhary Lal Singh along with his other supporters including his wife and former MLA Kanta Andotra joined the Party. Besides, former IGP Gulzar Singh Salathia, Ex president Diploma Engineers Association, R S Jasrotia, Opinder Gupta alias Golu Shah a prominent industrialist of Jammu, and NPP leader Ravinder Pathania alias Neetu Pathania joined BJP.
Earlier Mr Shah visited border migrant camp at RS Pura and interacted with people there. He also visited the border Migrant camp at Government school Slaid in Bishnah to ascertain their problems.
Addressing these migrants, he said the Central Government will resolve the problem of war refugees in a time bound and a phased manner.
Striking an emotional chord with the people living in border belt, he said BJP and country understands their pain and agony as they have to suffer due to Pakistani firing from across the border. He assured them all assistance from Union Government and Party saying that the issue will be taken up by him and his Party general secretary J P Nadda with Centre also.
He said the people have their own representative Dr Jitendra Singh in PMO and MP from the Jammu-Poonch Constituency, Jugal Kishore Sharma has already taken up the issue with them.
He said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given a directive to troops to give a befitting reply to Pakistan as India is not going tolerate it any more.
The BJP chief who was accompanied by Minister in PMO Office, Dr Jitendra Singh, Party national general secretaries JP Nadda and Ram Madhav, MP Avinash Rai Khanna, State president Jugal Kishore Sharma and Seh Prabhari R P Singh claimed that BJP will form the next Government in the State and the Party will get the majority as it got in the Lok Sabha elections.
In his welcome address at Kathua, Dr Jitendra Singh said that it was the land of Kathua earlier where Party took a resolve to attain the target of 272+ in Lok Sabha elections and left our opponents to bite the dust. He said in this rally here again BJP pledges to attain the Mission 44+.
Terming Amit Shah a towering personality, Dr Singh said he is an inspiration for the Party cadre. Highlighting the problems of border people, he said there is red alert in all over the year on border belt. Another problem with the border people is that being refugees they have not been given compensation so far, he added.
He said West Pak refugees have been deprived of citizenship rights in their own country. He however lauded some pro people steps taken by Narendra Modi led Government including construction of the bride Kalyan -Gadyal, sanction of ITI for Jammu and holding of employment fair in Kathua etc.
Jugal Kishore Sharma in his address said the base of those parties who were calling BJP a Party of two and half districts has been eroded in recent Lok Sabha elections in the State. He also highlighted the problems of border migrants and demanded allotment of five marlas of land to border people at safer places and settlement of problems of West Pak, PoJK refugees and other displaced people.
MLA Bishnah Ashwani Kumar Sharma while addressing the meeting at Slaid took the Government to task for the plight of border people and said that the promise made by Congress in 2002 elections regarding allotment of five marlas of land to them at safer places was not later fulfilled after forming the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with PDP.
He demanded adequate compensation for the border people whose land has been taken under fencing, ex-gratia to the tune of Rs 10 lakh for next kin of those killed in firing and full cost of the cattle be paid to its owner by Government in the event of the death due to firing.
He also demanded allotment of five marlas of land to border people at safer places with construction of One Room Tenements (ORTs) for them.
MLA Suchetgarh Ch. Sham also highlighted the problems of border migrants at R S Pura where the migrants also gave a memorandum to Mr Shah.
Ch Sham demanded compensation for land under fencing, recruitment drive be launched for border youth in security forces to provide them a job and citizenship rights be granted to West Pak refugees with one time settlement of problems of PoJK refugees of 47, 65 and 71.
The other BJP leaders who were present included Ashok Khajuria, Dr Nirmal Singh, Shamsher Singh Manhas, Ashok Kaul, Sat Sharma, (CA), Chander Mohan Sharma, Bali Bhagat, R S Jasrotia, C P Ganga, Ramesh Arora, Sunil Sethi, Moti Kaul, Yudhvir Sethi, Aseem Gupta, Arun Gupta, Vikram Randhawa, Pawan Khajuria, Munish Sharma, Prof Garu Ram MLA, Pramod Kaphai, Sanjay Baru , Braham Jot, Surinder Bhagat etc.
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