BJP fails to respect mandate of Jammu: Harshdev

Udhampur, Dec 29 (HS): Accusing the BJP of betraying the sentiment of people of Jammu over a host of issues, NPP chairman Harshdev Singh today said that by declining holiday on birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, it had caused the greatest disillusionment to its own electorates.

He said that despite repeated assurances of reviewing and revising the holidays Calendar and including September 23, in the list of Gazette holidays, it failed to keep its word thereby causing huge disappointment to the very people who gave it 25 seats in Assembly besides both seats of Parliament.
Addressing a public gathering at village Dheeran in Ramnagar constituency today Singh said, ” BJP has persistently belied the aspirations of Jammu people ever since its ascendance to power. Its cowardly surrenders before PDP are still a fresh in the minds of people. It was the BJP-PDP Govt which had refused to revive the practice of issuance of Dogra certificate to youth of Jammu. Again, it was the BJP which followed the Kashmiri leaders dictations over Rassana issue and refused to hand over the case to CBI thereby causing huge public outrage in its own core constituency. The BJP made haughty claims of extension of Article 371 to J&K so as to save the lands and jobs of locals which too, turned out to be a treacherous move to cheat people. And latest of its betrayals is the denial of holiday on the birthday of legendary Dogra Ruler who is considered a symbol of Dogra pride and honour,” Singh asserted.
Maintaining that BJP had dis-respected the mandate given to it by Jammu people, Singh said that its leadership invariably demeaned and diminished Jammu.

He said, “Our development had been relegated to the back ground with entire focus on Kashmir even after reorganization of the State. The teams of Union Ministries were regularly touring Kashmir with doles and incentives for its people to the neglect of Jammu. The HRD Ministry, Minority Affairs Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Finance Ministry, all had something to offer to Kashmir with Jammu region made to contact with deceptive promises and false rhetoric”.