PDP for An Inclusive Govt: Mufti
SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has said Jammu & Kashmir in view of its diversity requires an inclusive government that can connect and cater to the aspirations of all regions and communities living in it.
Addressing a public meeting at Ganderbal today, he said while the PDP expects a decisive mandate in the next elections it would strive to run the state through consensus by involving other political stakeholders as well.
Mufti said the partys agenda for resolution of Kashmir issue was under implementation when its tenure ended. However, the unfinished business has to be completed and for that we will need every bodys active cooperation and support, he said and added a sense of participation in power of every section is essential for the success of any historic effort that we intend to make.
Mufti said the confidence building measures between India and Pakistan after 2003 Vajpayee initiative and the change in the political atmosphere of sub continent had much to do with the free and fair exercise of vote in Jammu & Kashmir and Ganderbal had a special role in that. He said Ganderbal had sent in 2002 a powerful message of change across the state and even outside. He said that spirit has to be revived if the mission of resolution has to be taken to its logical conclusion.
Mufti said though he treats public endorsement and power through elections as an honour bestowed by the people but his actual ambition at this stage of life is to bring the state out of the morass of uncertainty and instability. He said that might have happened by now if the process had not been snapped in 2008 mainly because of the tactical rigging in some seats including Srinagar.
Mufti said next elections, whenever they are held will be conducted on the comparative performance of political parties both in govt and in opposition. He said solid issues would be there for people to vote for. While on the top will be the political resolution of Jammu & Kashmir, important economic issues like the power crisis will have to be debated and brought into public attention for its solution. For the PDP, he said return of power projects and renegotiation of terms with the NHPC will be of crucial importance.
Mufti said unemployment was a huge challenge and we will need to have a clear policy on tackling it and providing remunerative and dignified jobs to our educated and skilled population. He said the present government has utterly failed on this crucial front and instead of having resolved their problems it has targeted the youth as enemies of the state and demonized them as stone pelters, drug addicts and criminals. He said youth were the real asset of a nation and if we fail in realizing their potential we can never hope to build a self-reliant and self respecting nation. No government is worth its salt if it fails the youth, he said.
In his address Muzaffar Hussain Baig said the NC has cheated all sections of the population, every area and every region of the state. He said Ganderbal was the worst victim of the NCs political exploitation. He said the party could not identify a single significant achievement in Ganderbal district ever since 1975 when Sheikh Sahib first secured the mandate of people from there.
Baig said NC was neck deep in corruption and in order to escape public scrutiny it is trying to paint its political opponents also with the same brush. Questioning the source of income of the Abdullah family, Baig said no member of its three generations had held a regular job or conducted a known business. How is it that the family is sitting on property worth crores in the state and outside?
Baig said the NC has historically been dividing people on one pretext or the other. He said they tried to create a rural – urban divide in Kashmir and tried to continue their exploitation of the residents of Srinagar city. However, the only people who have prospered in Srinagar and created assets worth hundreds of crores are the NC politicians and their agents. He said the most people in city are now realizing that NC is deliberately preventing them from exercising right to vote for its own survival.
Partys chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar, former Minister Qazi Mohammed Afzal and district president Bandipore Yasir Reshi were also present.
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