Dr Jitendra calls upon NC, PDP workers to defy boycott call

BJP working committee meeting in Akhnoor on Sunday.
BJP working committee meeting in Akhnoor on Sunday.

BJP WC says will contest all seats of local polls

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 16: In a significant statement, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh today challenged Jammu-based activists of National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to defy dictates of their party leadership for boycott of Municipal and Panchayat elections and join the electoral exercise if they want to prove their claim of being sympathizers for the cause of Jammu.
Dr Jitendra Singh as well as other senior BJP leaders launched a scathing attack on National Conference and PDP in the party’s one-day State Working Committee meeting at Akhnoor today for giving boycott call for Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat elections and lauded the Centre as well as State Governments’ determination to go ahead with the polls despite boycott by the two parties.
The Working Committee called upon the party cadre across all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir to gear up not only for participation in the local elections but also mobilize people for greater participation in the polls to ensure that boycott call of NC and PDP doesn’t impact the turnout. It declared that the BJP will field candidates on all Wards of 79 Municipalities and over 4000 Panchayats. While the Municipal elections are being held on party-basis, the Panchayat polls will be on non-party basis.
Concluding discussion on political resolution presented in the Working Committee, Dr Jitendra Singh accused Congress and National Conference (NC), of not only taking the people of Jammu for granted but also taking their own party’s Jammu cadre for granted. The same, he said, is also the case of PDP, even though the party’s presence in Jammu region is too dismal to deserve any mention.
He called upon Jammu-based activists of NC and PDP to defy boycott call of their parties leadership if they want to prove their claim of being sympathizers of the cause of Jammu and if they wish to prove their credentials of being sincere to the aspirations of the people of Jammu.
“The Jammu based activists of these parties had been, for the last few years, accusing BJP of not rising up to the expectations of the people of Jammu, but today when the people of Jammu and their own party aspirants are keen to be a part of the election process, they have conveniently surrendered their conscience to their “Kashmir – centric bosses”. In a democracy, every political activist has a right to aspire to become a Corporator or a Councilor,” the Union Minister said and appealed to the aspirants among these parties not to allow their voice to be stifled.
He called upon them to come out and try their luck in the local body elections and offer their support to BJP to work for the welfare of masses.
Dr Jitendra Singh said National Conference wants autonomy for the ruling family but not for the elected Panchayats, whereas Congress is not ready to implement 73rd Constitutional amendment of the Constitution, which was brought by their own leader late Rajiv Gandhi.
“If National Conference is so sincere about autonomy, it should have join the electoral process as elected Panchayats and Municipalities will give powers to the people at grass-root level to identify and execute development works of their areas,” he asserted.
Refusing to comment directly on Article 35 A which is sub-judice, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there have been at least three Chief Ministers in the past, all of them hailing from Kashmir valley, whose own daughters and grand-daughters have been adversely impacted by the denial of equal rights to women in the State. He said, the issue of gender discrimination is not confined to a particular religion or region, but has equally and negatively affected women from all religions and all regions, including those living in the Kashmir valley.
Dr Jitendra Singh cited evidence to claim that in just four years, the Modi Government at the Centre has done for the State, including the Jammu region, much more than what the other Governments led by Congress and its allies had done in the last 65 years.
He said, in just one month of September this year, four national level projects have been brought, which include Shahpur-Kandi Dam which was held up for 40 years, Ujh multipurpose project held up for two decades, first – of -its- kind Seed Processing Plant for which the foundation stone was laid in Kathua a day before and the first – ever National Institute of High Altitude Medicines for which the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in Bhaderwah later this month subject to the permission from the State Election Commission in view of imposition of Model Code of Conduct.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that most of the allegations made by Congress and its allies are actually based on their own failures or works not accomplished by them in the last six decades. He said, the Modi Government is trying to redeem the sins of the past Governments but “we will not let the Congress party transfer all its sins to our baggage. We will continuously keep reminding the people of the sins committed by Congress and its allies, though at the same time will also constantly endeavor to undo all the wrongs committed by them”.
Expressing confidence that the atmosphere is very favourable for BJP, Dr Jitendra Singh said that in both the Local Body elections as well Parliament polls to follow in April-May next year, the BJP will not only prove its supremacy but also expose the hollow claims of Congress and its allies.
The BJP Working Committee was chaired by party’s State president Ravinder Raina (MLA). Apart from Dr. Jitendra Singh, it was attended by MP Lok Sabha Jugal Kishore Sharma, MP Rajya Sabha Shamsher Singh Manhas, former Deputy CM Kavinder Gupta, former Minister Sat Sharma, MLAs Rajiv Sharma and Dr. Krishan Bhagat, State general secretary (Organizations) Ashok Kaul, State general secretaries Dr. Narinder Singh, Yudhvir Sethi, Sunil Sharma along with BJP MLAs, MLCs, all State office bearers, Morcha State presidents, district presidents, State Working Committee members and senior leaders.
Raina welcomed Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and Panchayat elections, saying that this will further strengthen power of common man.
“The elections will restore democracy at the grass-root level in real terms,” he added.
Kavinder Gupta asked all the BJP leaders to ensure that benefits of all the Central and State sponsored welfare schemes reach out to every person. He enumerated the various milestones reached under the present dispensation and alleged that the previous Governments never worked with good intentions.
Ashok Kaul threw light on the organizational matters and forthcoming party programmes. He said that in view of the approaching elections, these organizational programmes carry an unparalleled significance as they serve as the indispensable tool to connect with masses. He said that all the senior party leaders have the duty to ensure that the party ideology is propagated through the conduction of these programmes.
Jugal Kishore Sharma laid stress on the importance of ULB and Panchayat elections and said that these play vital role in strengthening the grass root level democracy. He asserted that only BJP is the party that has pressed hard for these basic elections to strengthen hands of common masses.

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