NC, PDP Disempowered Grassroot Democratic Institutions: Sajad

HANDWARA — Former Minister and Peoples’ Conference chairman, Sajad Gani Lone, on Tuesday said that the two regional parties of NC and PDP played a “devious, negative role in disempowering the people of the state by disem­powering grassroots democratic institutions and centralizing power within two dynastic cores which have drowned the state into nepotism and corruption.”

Addressing a workers’ conven­tion at Handwara, the PC Chair­man sought effective, drastic reformative measures from the Governor’s administration and the Central government to em­power Panchayat and Urban Body elected representatives in the State. Dozens of elected Panchs and Sarpanchs from the region participated in the convention. The PC Chairman also reiterated the party’s commitment to issue a white paper on the erosion of the State’s special autonomous status and said the white paper would list, with details, the com­plicity of the National Conference and the PDP founders in the ero­sion of Article 370.

“We will also come out with a white paper on massive loot, plunder and corruption in the State pioneered by the twin dynasties who have amassed thousands of crores in unearned wealth by robbing the State of funds and through kickbacks at the cost of effective develop­ment in Jammu and Kashmir”, the PC chairman added.

“Both NC and PDP are parties based around two corrupt dynas­tic nuclei. They are two similar parts of a political cartel which collectively strives for nepotism, theft and plunder of the State’s resources so that the two fami­lies can amass wealth for their coming generations. It is time for the political leaders to wonder if surrendering their dignity at the service of these two corrupt dy­nasties is worth it,” he said.

“Omar Abdullah and Mehboo­ba Mufti were both born with silver spoons in their mouths and have left no stone unturned to further plunder the State and deprive its young of opportuni­ties to dream of a bright future. Their alliance is an inglorious chapter of desperation that has come to fore as a befitting tribute to the destructive role played by these two dynasties in the State – of fuelling alienation in Kash­mir through stentorian rhetoric and slogans while shamelessly furthering their own economic interests by pretending to be na­tionalists in Delhi”, he added.

PC Chairman said NC and PDP had left no stone unturned, dur­ing their successive tenures, to dis empower and sideline elect­ed grassroots democratic insti­tutions. “Both the twin dynasties of the NC and PDP have always been paranoid about decentral­ization of power to the grass­roots institutions. Left to the two families, they would prefer to even centralize the powers of legislators and Ministers within the four walls of their palaces on Gupkar Road. They have been petty insecure when it comes to Panchayat and Urban Local Body representatives. Their tan­trum of allegedly ‘boycotting’ the ULB and Panchayat Elections was in some measure based on this insecurity. The tantrum was primarily a blackmailing tactic where the two twin dynasties embraced each other against the emergence of Peoples’ Confer­ence as a viable, effective and popular alternative to their po­litical monopoly”, Sajad said.

Seeking the effective empow­erment of Panchayat and Urban Local Body “elected representa­tives”, he said that the “elected grassroots representatives should be given powers to improve the delivery of governance where the two dynasties have utterly failed.”

“The Governor’s administra­tion and the Central government should ensure the elected repre­sentatives are given utmost re­spect and dignity and provided with facilities, reasonable hono­rariums and powers to bring about change at the ground level. Their safety and security should be ensured and the Ad­ministration should give them every possible opportunity to work for the benefit of the tradi­tionally disempowered sections of our society”,

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