Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 25: Former minister and senior National Conference (NC) leader Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi disappointed the people of Jammu and Kashmir by not spelling out any roadmap for safeguarding the jobs and lands of the permanent residents, granting statehood, addressing the burgeoning unemployment problem, ending developmental inertia and tackling the selective attacks by terrorists in the Valley.
Reacting to the speech delivered by the Prime Minister at Palli Panchayat in Samba district on Sunday, the former minister, in a statement, said that the youth were expecting a big employment package, given the promises held out by the BJP in 2014 and 2019 but not speaking a word is anti-climax of the visit. He said the educated employed are not only struggling for some sort of sustenance but are also worried about their share in the jobs being usurped by the outsiders.
“The youth find themselves in a very precarious situation with no hope in sight in the near future. Much disappointing fact about the speech was the stoic silence of the PM over the regularization of about 80,000 daily wagers, casual labourers, need based, adhoc based in various departments who along with their families are suffering for decades,” he added.
Sadhotra said the PM continued to remain muted over the promised restoration of statehood to J&K or instilling a sense of confidence among the people about restoration of the democratic process, which stands denied for nearly three years. He said J&K was awaiting a big reach out by the PM but the Central leaders are continuing with their gimmick and rhetoric, which people are increasingly realizing.
The former Minister said that the PM did not list measures on how to ease peoples’ pain, their anxieties over fast growing inflation, rising fuel and LPG prices. This speaks about the indifference of the central leadership over the concerns of the common people, he said adding, that the Prime Minister’s visit to Jammu was a huge disappointment.