Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 2: Claiming that National Conference (NC) was not only the political custodian of Jammu and Kashmir’s political individuality, Chief Minister and NC Working President Omar Abdullah today said the party has grassroot cadre essential line of defense against the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing series of election rallies and road shows in central Kashmir district of Budgam and Baramulla in North, Mr Abdullah said his party was not only the political custodian of J&K’s honour and political individuality but also a repository of thousands of sacrifices that have been rendered ever since NC came into being to fight suppression, autocracy and injustice.
He had unfaltering faith in the grassroots cadre of NC which formed an essential line of defense against BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.
The NC Working President highlighted development initiatives taken by the NC-led Government during the past six years and said there was not a single sector that had not seen unprecedented growth and transformation.
“From the power sector to the tourism sector, our performance speaks for itself. We added nearly 1700 Megawatts of power to the State’s power portfolio while laying the foundation of new projects that would add a further 9,000 Megawatts to the State’s power portfolio in the coming years.
He said due to these efforts, J&K will finally be self-reliant not only in the power sector but will also become economically self-reliant by selling the surplus power to the neighboring States.
In stark contrast to this, the PDP-Congress Coalition Government did not add one single megawatt of power to the State’s portfolio and their only visible work in the power sector remained confined to the installation of meters”, Mr Abdullah said.
He said the NC-led Government’s initiatives in the Tourism Sector brought a Tourism Revolution in the State thanks to which hundreds of new hotels came up in the State providing employment to thousands of our youth.
“During the PDP-Congress Government’s tenure, the State witnessed a combined tourism inflow of 25 lakh tourists. During the NC-led Government’s tenure our combined tourism inflow over the last six years crossed 55 lakh tourists which is more than double of what we received between 2002 and 2008. This too is a landmark achievement that has had enormous, positive implications on the economy of the State and has given a boost to the handicrafts, retail, horticulture and hospitality sectors while providing a much needed impetus to employment generation”, Mr Abdullah said. “These elections represent a contest between honesty and corruption, the truth of our political dignity and the lies of the BJP, Congress and PDP. Today those who speak of AFSPA are the same political parties which opposed all demands of NC to get AFSPA revoked from the State. It was Congress Pradesh Committee Chief Professor Saif-ud-Din Soz who publically opposed the revocation of AFSPA from J&K while BJP raised a hue and cry every single time my Government approached New Delhi demanding the revocation of the Act,” Mr Abdullah said.
The PDP too scuttled all moves made by NC to get AFSPA revoked and played partisan politics on this issue which they should have treated above and beyond politics. Today if AFSPA is still there, PDP, Congress and BJP are squarely responsible, he added.
He said NC fought tooth and nail for the revocation of AFSPA and will continue to do so in the future. “We seek a strong mandate from you so that NC is free of all coalition compulsions and can take such much-needed, strong decisions”, Mr Abdullah said.
He said NC was poised to give a huge surprise to its detractors on the counting day and just like the turnout in the first phase, the turnout in the second phase also represents the will of the people to stand up for the political honour and dignity of the State.
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