Press Trust of India

No redemption in J&K’s situation unless Centre revokes erstwhile state’s special status: NC

No redemption in J&K’s situation unless Centre revokes erstwhile state’s special status: NC
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Srinagar: The National Conference (NC) on Sunday said there can be no trade-off between the political aspirations and the development ambitions of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and no redemption in the situation unless the Centre revokes its August 5, 2019 decision and restores the special status of the erstwhile state.

“There can be no redemption in the situation unless New Delhi does not change its August 5, 2019 decision. There can be no trade-off between the political aspirations and development ambitions of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Both have to go hand in hand.

“New Delhi has to give a sense of entitlement to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by undoing its August 5, 2019 policy and restoring democracy to its pristine glory,” NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said here.

In a statement, the NC leader said the “exclusivist policies and the scripted mayhem” of the Centre towards Jammu and Kashmir have “left a trail of destroyed economy and smouldered democracy”.

Expressing concern over the “widespread administrative inertia, crumbling economy, soaring unemployment and scathing alienation” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the subsequent milestones achieved by the ruling dispensation were “ill-conceived and back-breaking”.

“Mutilating, downgrading and disempowering Jammu and Kashmir have pushed the entire region into limbo and on the terminal path of alienation. The ruling dispensation has pulverised decades of our investment in peace-building and strengthening of democratic institutions in one fell swoop by giving precedence to a party ideology over the supreme interests of the country,” Sagar said.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir live in an environment where they are not trusted with basic civil rights.

“Far from delivering on the promises of flooding the region with investment, creating job extravaganza and augmentation of infra-projects, the measures of August 5 and all other subsequent orders and notifications have only been able to undermine the emotional connect of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country,” the NC leader said.

He said the people were told that the measures of August 5, 2019 would bring Jammu and Kashmir at par with other states, but on the contrary, the new normal that has been “shoved down” the throats of the people of the Union Territory has nothing in common with the other parts of the country.

Stating that the promises made by the Centre at the time of “the unilateral and unconstitutional abrogation” of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutionally-guaranteed status have fallen flat, the NC general secretary said on the contrary, the spurious claims of the ruling dispensation at the Centre have become apparent looking at the crumbling tourism, handicrafts and health and education sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.

“From being a revenue-surplus state to a revenue-deficit one, the so-called ‘development’ is before people. The only thing the ruling dispensation has ably done is to disenfranchise the local youth from employment opportunities,” he said.


Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India is lead news agency of India

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