Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 3: Senior BJP leader and former Minister Bali Bhagat today said that the decision of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to reopen cases of terror victims in Jammu and Kashmir would be a long-awaited step towards justice for thousands of innocent civilians who fell prey to Pakistan-backed terrorism.
In a statement issued here today, the former Minister said LG’s directive to Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to reopen all such cases which were deliberately buried in the past and to file fresh FIRs, has reignited hope among terror victim families who were left in the lurch for decades due to the indifference of previous regimes.
Bali Bhagat held the National Conference (NC) directly responsible for the rise of terrorism in the Kashmir Valley. “It was under the patronage of NC that terrorism took roots and innocent Kashmiris were either silenced or sacrificed at the altar of vote bank politics. Many cases of civilian killings were buried just to protect certain elements aligned with the terror ecosystem,” he alleged.
The former Minister strongly asserted that the rigging of the 1987 Assembly elections by the then NC Government, in collusion with the Congress at the Centre, laid the foundation for terrorism in Kashmir. He said the massive electoral manipulation not only crushed the democratic aspirations of the youth but also pushed many towards the path of militancy.
Welcoming the decision of LG Sinha to ensure job priority to the next of kin (NoKs) of victims, Bali Bhagat said the move would provide not just compensation but also dignity and recognition to the families who bore the brunt of terrorism.
Referring to the order for reclaiming properties and land grabbed by terrorists or their sympathizers, Bhagat said this would dismantle the deeply entrenched support structure of terrorism within society.
Bhagat reiterated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LG Sinha, J&K is seeing an era of justice, security and accountability.
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