Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 21: Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today announced that party president and Legislature Party leader Mehbooba Mufti and former Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra will contest Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag and Srinagar constituencies respectively.
The names of candidates for Baramulla and Ladakh constituencies will be announced later, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said at a meeting of senior leaders, legislators and party functionaries in Srinagar today.
The PDP has already announced names of veteran leader Yashpal Sharma for Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat and Arshad Malik for Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency.
With this, the PDP has become the first major political party to announce candidates for four out of six Lok Sabha seats in the State, the elections for which are scheduled to be held in April-May 2014.
No major political party like National Conference, Congress and BJP have so far announced their candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
All three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir and lone seat of Ladakh are presently held by the National Conference while two seats of Jammu region are held by the Congress.
Addressing the meeting, Mufti Sayeed said the PDP is aiming at bringing the change in the entire political scenario and the administrative system in the State, which have been marked by uncertainty and injustice ever since independence.
He expressed the confidence that the change will begin taking place with the elections to the Lok Sabha.
Mr Sayeed said democracy is the only way that provides resolution to problems and it is unfortunate that in Jammu and Kashmir every other method of dubious merit has been tried, but democratic processes were always subverted.
He said it was with the arrival of the PDP that the institution of MLA as a people’s representative came under focus for the first time.
Their voice mattered and as a conscience people started having expectations from them. But, this also introduced a positive element of public scrutiny, performance audit and accountability of people’s representatives, Mr Sayeed said and added it is because of these new factors in state politics that has helped people to use their option in electing the right candidate.
“The phase of political monopoly is over and that is a major corrective in our political system”, he said.
About the importance of the members that are sent to the Parliament Mr Sayeed said the people of the State have now an opportunity and a challenge to utilise the next Lok Sabha elections for making the rest of the country aware of the problems, that we face and secure our rights as a special status State within the union.
Mr Sayeed said till now the MPs elected by the people here have generally been subsumed by electoral politics of the ruling parties, but now the PDP will try to send with the support of the people strong, sincere and dedicated persons to the highest seat of democrarcy in the country, “so that our voice is heard with respect”.
Mr Sayeed said people of the State now have a very clear and easy choice to make between parties while they exercise their right to vote.
He said the present Government has proved to be the worst enemy of the people of the State. “While corruption is rampant but the lust for money and luxury has resulted in a total collapse of the system and institutions,” he added.
He said even an institution like BOPEE, which deals with the careers and destiny of hard working young boys and girls has not been spared.
“The dreams of these youngsters have been snatched and their hardwork sold for money by an “insensitive and callous Government”, which is becoming more and more criminal in its conduct” said Mr Sayeed.
He said this Government has made things very difficult to retrieve even for a new dispensation that might succeed them.
Development process has almost stopped the political narrow mindedness of the present Government and has increased alienation to unprecedented levels.
Institutions of transparency like the Accountability Commission, Information Commission and Vigilance Organization have been made ineffective.
He said the J&K Bank, which is a shining example of Government and private participation and served as an effective source for funding State developmental projects too, has been taken out of the development process of the State by discontinuing it as the State banker.
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