Priyanka Gandhi Vadra | (Photo: PTI)
The Congress will restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Saturday as she criticized the BJP for using the Union territory as a pawn to “stir up emotions” elsewhere in the country.
Gandhi, the Congress national general secretary, also criticized Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, saying the current government was a “puppet government” run by remote control.
Click here to contact us via WhatsApp
“The Congress party has a vision for you and for Jammu and Kashmir. We want to restore your state’s status. If our government comes to power, we will restore your state immediately. We will also revive the tradition of Darbar Move,” Vadra said. told a public meeting here.
Darbar Move refers to the biannual shifting of government offices, including the secretariat, between Jammu and Srinagar in view of the harsh winter in JK.
“We want to protect your rights, your rights to your land and your employment,” Gandhi said while supporting the party candidate in Bishna, Neeraj Kundan.
Reacting to Amit Shah’s comments on the statehood issue, she said, “I found it funny when the Home Minister said in his speech that if you want the statehood back, vote for us. But the fact is that they are the ones who have taken over the state. taking it away. It’s like a thief stealing your TV and then saying, “If you want it back, just ask me.”
“They claim that only they can give it back. If our government comes to power, we will immediately restore your state,” Gandhi said against the BJP government for “demoting” JK to a Union Territory.
She added: “This is the highlight of the country. Nature has given you all these resources and this beauty. From here came the great sages who spread faith, culture and teachings not only in India but also in other countries.”
But the BJP has taken everything you have, the Congress leader added.
Recalling her grandmother Indira Gandhi’s “deep bond” with Kashmir, she said, “Four or five days before Indira Gandhi’s assassination, she told us that she wanted to visit Kashmir to see the autumn leaves. She took us to the Kheer Bhawani temple, and a few days after returning to Delhi, she was murdered.
“It was a call from her country and Mata that brought her to Kashmir,” she recalled, highlighting her family’s long-standing relationship with the region.
Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her speech, saying he was not taking the concerns of the people of JK seriously.
BJP leaders have made Jammu and Kashmir a pawn in their political chess game as policies are not being made for the people of the region, she said.
“They are made to arouse emotions across the country through you and serve political purposes,” Gandhi said.
“Even in Modi Ji’s speech, there was no seriousness about the genuine concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Repairing train stations is not an achievement to brag about if the bigger issues of your rights, land and employment are ignored,” she said.
“What really matters are the genuine concerns of the people of JK. Why are these not addressed? Why don’t they focus on the truth? When did the Prime Minister take away the status of your state?
The Congress leader also raised the issue of unemployment in her speech and alleged that half of the contracts meant for JK were awarded to outsiders. “You have been deprived of your right to vote, and small businesses are being crushed by big corporations. Why is Jammu and Kashmir lagging behind in employment? Why is there so much unemployment?”
The BJP government, she said, has set up a “system of loot, where a puppet government runs things from a distance,” she said.
“Land banks are being created and your land is being handed over to big industrialists, the same ones Modi Ji has favored across the country. The same is happening here in Jammu and Kashmir,” Gandhi said.
Big Reliance stores are opening and small businesses are being crushed, she said.
The Congress leader added that the Prime Minister is “promoting Ambani and Adani” at the Centre, and in JK, the LG is “favoring his friends”.
‘Nothing is done for you. A Dalit officer has exposed the Jal Jeevan mission scam and instead of investigating, the officer is being harassed. There should be an investigation into this, but instead you’re harassing the officer,” she said.
Criticizing the government over the Agnipath scheme, Gandhi said: “They introduced Agniveer, a scheme that gives nothing to those who risk their lives at the borders and become martyrs. This is why all opposition parties are fighting and raising this issue repeatedly.
“This government and the Prime Minister are so arrogant that even though they know the plan is wrong and not beneficial for the youth, they refuse to back down,” she said.
She also addressed the drug addiction problem plaguing the region, saying that no BJP leader talks about it because they know the cause is unemployment. “Unemployment makes people fall prey to the drug mafia,” she said.
Gandhi called on the people of Jammu and Kashmir to vote wisely and underlined that the Congress’ vision includes restoration of the state, protection of land rights of local people and employment for the people.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: September 28, 2024 | 8:21 PM IST