Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Aug 11 : Expressing deep anguish and sorrow on the unfortunate turn of the events on the auspicious day of Eid at Kishtwar, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has appealed the people of J&K to maintain calm and peace and not fall prey to the machinations of divisive elements. He said that whatever has happened is heart-rending and deeply agonizing but there is no way to come out of this morass, except by once again charting on the course of peace and harmony.
Exhorting people to recall their age old traditions of amity and brotherhood, Azad maintained that to defeat the nefarious designs of disruptive forces, people should once again demonstrate exemplary brotherhood and unity.
Asking the people of Kishtwar to take cue from their past, when their forefathers remain unaffected by frenzy and hysteria of 1947, he called upon the wiser and enlightened gentry not to get carried away by the pernicious designs of vested interests.
“As people of various religions will live together in the State, like they have been living since hundreds of years, it is of utmost importance to maintain harmony and peaceful co-existence”, Mr Azad said, adding “destruction and violence is not going to lead us anywhere, except inflicting lasting injury to the psyche of the people.”
He also expressed gratitude to PM, Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for their intervention in making available Central Forces at the nick of the time yesterday night when things had started drifting out of hands and tension had gripped other parts of the State.
It is worthwhile to mention that on the request of Mr Azad, Prime Minister ordered deployment of Central Forces in the entire Jammu region and that mobilisation of troops was done in the shortest possible time with curfew imposed in all the major cities and towns late in the night.
Highlighting the pitfalls of communal disharmony and social discord, Mr Azad maintained that forces inimical to the unity and integrity of India, always on a prowl to exploit any possible situation, can use such occasions to further their agenda of destabilizing the country.
He expressed hope that all political parties, especially the national parties, will make a combined effort to douse the embers of darkness and destruction and help the State Govt in every respect in this moment of crisis to restore order and peace.
He maintained that State cannot afford to make the career of another generation hostage to the whims and fancies of disruptive forces as that will be gravest injustice to the future generations of our State. “Need of the hour is to catch up with rest of the world and create a future for our youth which is full of promise and hope rather than besmirched with gloom and regression”, added Mr Azad.
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