Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 9: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra today said that people’s grievances remain unresolved, which has shaken their faith in the democratic system they voted overwhelmingly to restore.
Speaking at a press conference at the party headquarters, Karra said that people feel their expectations have not been met even after participating in the electoral process. He urged the National Conference- led Government to take proactive measures and necessary interventions to address public concerns.
“People had a complaint that for the past ten years, democracy was missing and a particular administration discriminated against them. They hoped that their genuine grievances and public issues would be addressed after voting. But even now, at the local level, these grievances remain unresolved,” he said.
The Congress Chief warned that this growing frustration is creating a situation where the common man feels that their vote and the democratic system they helped restore, have not yielded any benefit. Click here to watch video
“There are many intricacies involved. First, the business rules have not been decided yet. Secondly, the Congress party has been firm from the beginning that Statehood should be restored. We reiterate that statehood is imperative. If you want the system for which elections were fought to function effectively, its foundations must be strengthened through statehood restoration,” Karra said.
He stressed that failure to address these concerns is breeding cynicism among the people, making them question whether they should trust the restored democratic system. “There are insecurities that people should not trust this system,” he said.
The Congress chief highlighted two key angles to the current governance challenges. “One angle is that the democratically elected Government should not be deliberately made to fail under any premeditated scheme. The second angle is the existing bureaucratic system, which is caught between confusion and possible premeditated schemes. There is no clear guidance, leaving public work and demands unfulfilled. Officers themselves are uncertain about which administration they are answerable to-whether to the elected Government or the previously running Lieutenant Governor’s administration,” he explained.
As a result, he said, two major casualties are emerging: loss of faith in the democratic system and failure to address common people’s grievances. “Wherever you go, in villages or cities, unresolved issues persist-ration distribution, power supply, smart meters, power tariffs, and regularization of casual labor, unemployment. Both alliance partners had promised in their manifestoes that these issues would be resolved after forming the Government,” he added.
Expressing concerns over what he called deliberate efforts to stall governance, he urged his alliance partners to take a proactive role in ensuring effective administration. “Keeping all these factors in mind, I appeal to my alliance partners, who played a major role in forming this Government, to take decisive steps at both the Government of India level and the local level. They must ensure that governance functions smoothly through the bureaucracy. These issues are interconnected, and failure to act will only deepen public distrust in the democratic system,” he said.
Karra emphasized the urgent need for intervention. “These concerns have been raised time and again, and I felt it necessary to bring them to your attention so they reach those responsible for rectifying the situation,” he said.
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