Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 8: Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana today said that Jammu and Kashmir was passing through a most crucial stage of its history with disruptionists and obstructionists (PDP-BJP) taking central stage and trying to break religious and regional bonding in the State.
“We won’t allow the divisive agenda to submerge people’s yearning for peace, togetherness, cohesiveness and single entity of the State”, Rana said while paying tribute to Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah at a function held at S K Bhavan in observance of his death anniversary.
Former Ministers Surjeet Singh Slathia, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Abdul Gani Malik and Babu Rampal were among the prominent speakers who paid homage to Baba-e-Quom while throwing light on different facets of his life.
Mr Rana cautioned the people against machinations of divisive elements (PDP and BJP) who were hell bent upon to create wedge between various segments of the society by exploiting religious and regional sentiments. They are creating fear psychosis about religion and regional identities being under danger, he said, adding that there was no threat to any religion in a State that maintained amity during most testing times under the towering stewardship of Sher-e-Kashmir.
“Yes, there is threat to those who were trading religion for their political sustenance” he said, adding that upholding the cherished slogan of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Buddhist Unity was the biggest and most befitting tribute to Sheikh Sahib.”
Accusing PDP and BJP of designing their politics in a mistaken belief of satiating their respective constituencies, Rana referred to the latest measure of imposing service tax on helicopter service to Mata Vaishno Devi and said the duo will now resort to, as part of their fixed match, high voltage politics on this contentious issue.
He said the two parties were cleverly raising such issues to create spaces for each other in the two regions. He anticipated BJP opening a front against PDP to waive off the tax and PDP showing no signs of immediate relenting in order to divert the attention of people from the problems confronted to them due to mis-governance. He said the coalition partners were serving as compliment and supplement to each other by whipping up regional and religious passions under a well thought over plan conceived at Nagpur.
Paying tributes to Sher-e-Kashmir, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra exhorted the workers to close their ranks and work for strengthening the bonds of amity and unity between various segments of the society.
In his address, Surjeet Singh Slathia recalled the revolutionary land reforms undertaken by Sher-e-Kashmir to improve the lot of peasants and said this transformed the entire rural landscape decades ago.
Former Minister, Abdul Gani Malik and Chairman SC/OBC Cell Babu Rampal threw light on various facets of the life of Sher-e-Kashmir.
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