J&K youth suffering, had no expectations from PM’s visit: Mehbooba

Darkness looms despite J&K’s power generation

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 25: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said that she had no expectations from the visit of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
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She said that the people of J&K, particularly, the youth, are suffering due to the policies of the Government.
“The youth of Kashmir have already been pushed to the wall by the Government while as the resources of J&K are being plundered day in and day out with nothing left for the youth of Kashmir, be it jobs or anything else,” he said.
Addressing a press conference here today Mehbooba said that she fails to understand what future the Prime Minister talked about in Jammu for the youth of J&K, when, they were already facing the worst from the administration.
Taking a jibe at PM Modi’s “reach out” remark to Kashmiri youth, she said that the youth in Kashmir were earlier facing PSA “and now to ensure that they do not get out easily are booked under UAPA.”
Concerning PM’s visit, Mehbooba said that it was a mockery as “he inaugurated the projects established by Manmohan Singh during NDA.”
She said that jobs and other resources are being given to outsiders, while local youth here are pushed to the wall. “There is no future in J&K even as the resources are being plundered, be it our minerals or anything else, everything is being given to outsiders,” Mehbooba said.
PDP chief said when they sensed that the situation was not normal in Kashmir, “they provided 50% relaxation on the stamp duty so that outsiders could buy land and the law which was brought in during our time regarding the relaxation on the stamp duty on land bought in the name of a woman.”
On the issue of power crisis, Mehbooba said, electricity generated in J&K is supplied to most of the parts of the country to illuminate factories, industries and houses. “J&K had been pushed to see the worst in terms of power supply, particularly during Sehri and Iftar as there remains complete darkness; even people in Jammu are also suffering despite rising temperature there,” she said.
PDP president said that J&K has recorded 25% of unemployment and on top of it, she said, the people are being fired. “Even as the jobs, on which there was a total right of the youth of J&K, are now open for everyone in the country, how is that going to improve the situation,” she said
Mehbooba expressed dismay and said that the initiatives taken by the Vajpayee to stop bloodshed were missing in J&K and that the present dispensation has never bothered to carry forward those initiatives.
While stating that the people of J&K were feeling suffocated, she alleged that BJP had bulldozed the mainstream parties. “They are not letting the mainstream parties carry out their activities, as usual, they are scuttled our political movement,” she said.