Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 18: The activists of JK Peoples Republican Party (JKPRP) staged a protest demonstration Press Lane here, today demanded that the elections to State Assembly be deferred and priority should be given to rehabilitation of flood victims in the State.
The demonstration was led by the president of the Party Advocate G M Tramboo. The protestors raising slogans in support of the demand said that the priority before the Government should be relief and rehabilitation of flood hit people.
Mr Tramboo said large number of people is passing days in open as their houses have been damaged in flash floods. The Government instead of announcing elections should concentrate in providing relief and also launch rehabilitation process of the people on war footing.
He said this will help in restoring the confidence of the people in democratic institutions and ensure their larger participation in poll process. Holding elections without paying attention to redress the problems of the people will generate public resentment and the response of the people to poll process will be low, he added.
Addressing the protestors Mir Ghulam Rasool Butwani said that people are totally disturbed as floods have created a lot of destruction and devastation. They have no shelters and large number of people is passing nights in open.
He said the Winter is approaching near and problems of flood victims will compound. The Government instead of solving these problems and work to restore the peoples confidence in democratic institutions is adding acid to injury by announcing Assembly poll. Mir said heavens will not fall by deferring poll to March or April next year as by that time the situation caused by devastating floods would have normalized to some extent.
Ghulam Ahmed Bhat, Ghulam Rasool Lone and other senior leaders of the organization addressed the demonstration.
Later the Party held a meeting at Anantnag in which the prevailing political situation in the Valley was discussed and Union Government was asked to take immediate steps to monitor relief and rehabilitation programme through its own agencies.
The meeting reiterated that Part will work for strengthening democratic and secular forces in the State and struggle to end the dynastic rule of what so ever form it may be.
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