Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 23: Seeking earnest central intervention in establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Jammu, in addition to the one already approved for Srinagar, National Conference today decided to intensify its public outreach till the logical demand of the people is met.
“While hailing establishment of AIIMS in Kashmir, we urge the Centre to appreciate the sensitivities involved in the matter and take an appropriate decision earnestly to avert avoidable divide over the issue”, Provincial President Devender Singh Rana said at a meeting of the senior party functionaries at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here this evening.
He said the upgraded medicare facilities were most imperative in Jammu and Kashmir because of its geographical vastness and topographical disadvantages. “This calls for a special dispensation to assuage the aspirations of the people”, he said while hoping that the Centre would emulate the spirit with which the previous Government had shown political upmanship by approving two central varsities, one each for Jammu and Srinagar. He recalled the lead taken by the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in seeking Central University for Jammu by taking all along, irrespective of the party affiliations.
Mr Rana said that National Conference will agitate deep yearning of the people of Jammu in a peaceful and democratic manner. He reminded the BJP led Government at the Centre of the promises made about equitable development and opportunities to progress to the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, saying sanctioning of AIIMS for Jammu is therefore a test to gauge its sincerity.
He expressed regrets over the local BJP leadership for not agitating the issue thereby betraying the trust of people who voted them adequately in the Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
“Being representative party of all the three regions of the State, National Conference will strive for seeking justice to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”, he said while urging the cadre to peacefully demonstrate their resentment against the step motherly treatment meted out to Jammu.
The meeting also expressed concern over the new Recruitment Policy and outsourcing of police recruitment, saying these are determental to the larger interest of youth. The leaders said that politicization of the recruitment amounts to its commercialization, which will be fought tooth and nail by the National Conference.
Prominent among those present in the meeting included Senior State Vice President and former minister Surjeet Singh Salathia, Rachpal Singh Ex-MLA, Rattan Lal Gupta State Vice President, Th. Kashmira Singh State President ,Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Provincial Secretary, Jugal Mahajan, Bushan Lal Bhat Ex-MLC, S.S Bunty Provincial President YNC, Jugal Mahajan, Vijay Lochan, Sunil Verma, Bashir Ahmed Wani, Anil Dhar, Pardeep Bali, D.S Chouhan, Dharam Veer Singh Jamwal, Ch. Haroon, Tanveer Hussain, Pankaj Kohli, Rohit Bali, Satwant Kour Dogra, Deep Mehra, Som Raj Taroch, Abdul Geni Teli, Sarooj, Satya Jamwal, Anju Grover, Reeta Gupta, Pinki Bhat, ML Munshi, Dr. Gaffor , S.Balwinder Singh, Dalbir Singh, D.S Kurana, Anoop Sharma, Ashok Singh, Ashok Dogra and others.