Excelsior Correspondent
RAMNAGAR, Apr 13: Former minister Harsh Dev Singh today said that post re-organization era has witnesses a massive slow down in J&K with development taking a back seat and growing unemployment becoming more pronounced.
Addressing a public meeting at Ramnagar today, Singh said the dismantling of J&K state has adversely impacted the trade, tourism and economy of the erstwhile princely Dogra state of the country. There is an all-round dis-enchantment amongst the people who were caught unawares on August 5, 2019 when the BJP led Govt at the Centre all of a sudden announced Re-organization of J&K and its division into two Union Territories.
“While the economy fast dissipated and development came to a grinding halt, the ever growing unemployment seemed to be the only notable feature of the ‘saffron rule’. The past few years witnessed massive public uprisings against the anti- Jammu and anti- people policies of the ruling dispensation which continued to be suppressed through iron fist of police and civil administration,” Harsh Dev added.
Taking repeated somersaults on almost all its professed promises, the power intoxicated regime continued to use the coercive apparatus of state to silence all those who dared raise their voice for justice and sought fulfillment of promises made by it during elections. Rather than honouring the commitments made during elections, it was trying to crush the dissenting voices by causing dissensions in and breaking the opposition parties.
Describing the BJP’s handling of dissent and disquiet as oppressively bizarre, undemocratic and morally sinister, Singh appealed to the workers not to succumb before the designs of the power hungry politicians. Singh said the survival of small traders has been threatened by the proposed entry of corporates, business tycoons and big stores in the UT. The unemployed youth of Jammu region have been the most disappointed lot with their share in services have been abysmally reduced. The daily wagers, the contractuals, the underemployed have all felt cheated in the present regime.
Alleging that a deep rooted culture of corruption was prevalent in the UT, Singh called upon the Vigilance organizations to keep a close watch over the functioning of various Departments particularly PHE, Revenue, Education, Power and RDD.