Politics has its own way!
- Ghulam Nabi Azad will visit Kashmir on Sept 12 to garner more support for his proposed political party.
- Ghulam Nabi Azad forgot to mention a little about the rehabilitation of POJK DPs of 1947, which has saddened the most suffering community for last 75 years.
jj correspondent
Jammu, Sep 04: Former Chief Minister and septuagenarian ex-Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad focused on the roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir public and emphasised on the restoration of complete statehood besides right to land and employment to original natives of the J&K, while distancing from any controversial demands to have pre-August 5, 2019 position or unification of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.
Making it clear that secularism and equality will be our agenda, Azad said “We have secular agenda is meant for all, will fight for the restoration of full statehood, the right to land and employment to native domiciles.” He further added that we don’t want an assembly with Lieutenant Governor but a Governor and not want outsiders to apply in J&K for jobs, which equals a drop in the ocean and in case they (outsiders) apply, jobs would be vanished for locals.
Mr. Azad was addressing his first rally in Jammu since he quit the Congress last month and now plans to launch a political party soon.
The former J&K CM has shown his political maturity and remained very cautious to raise any emotive issues like Article 370, seeking restoration of pre-August 5, 2019 position, mentioning Pakistan or demand to re-unify the erstwhile J&K, which included Ladakh as other regional parties in the Union Territory (UT) raising the issues to make sensational speech.
In a very short reference to the J&K’s special status, Mr. Azad said it was the Dogra king Maharaja Hari Singh who negotiated a J&K constitution within the Indian constitution in 1947. He further said that all the Prime Ministers of time to time including non-Congress had accepted in principal and he (Azad) has no authority to comment on it.
Elaborating his plans for the people of Jammu & Kashmir in future, Mr. Azad said he would work for honour, dignity, integrity of the people of J&K, which is most needed, whereas we need confidence building measures, besides, need to exhibit brotherhood and break the sand walls of hatred created between communities. Hindus, Muslims and Christians, he said that all are his heart beats.
Clarifying over the naming of his new party, Azad said the people of J&K will decide on a name for his party and a flag “by taking into consideration Ganga-Jamani culture” and he categorically added that his party name would neither reflect Moulvi’s Urdu nor Pandit’s Sanskrit but Hindustani, a popular language across the country.
While hinting on his future planning for J&K, Azad said that he had several plans to work on generating employment for both educated unemployed and less-educated unemployed. He further said that the mountains of J&K closely places like Bungas and Tosaimadan will accommodate over one crore tourists, which could hub of employment. He added that such things needed needs vision as J&K is home to a treasure.
Coming heavily on the J&K government, he lamented how locals were engaged on an ad-hoc and daily wage basis in J&K for decades. He said that those employed people are living off on a paltry ?3000 per month as it shocks him what they eat and what they wear.
Regretting over the issuing of licenses for sand extraction to the outsiders, Me Azad said that licenses for wine shops have gone to outsiders in the past few years and affected the locals badly and left them to die. He mentioned that out of 250 wine shops in Jammu, most are run by outsiders.
Stressing on the equitable development in J&K, Mr. Azad said that rural areas in J&K need hospitals while urban centres require super specialty facilities. Referring to human rights violations witnessed in J&K in the past, Mr. Azad said all communities have suffered, including Hindus and Muslims. He said that his priority would be to return the migrant Pandits to thioer native places with respect. He added that the killings witnessed recently should stop. He recalled his period as Chief Minister of J&K and said that when he was chief minister, accommodations were set up in many districts for Pandits but he always wanted return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri pundits.
Launching scathing attack on his parent organisation Congress, Mr. Azad said he witnessed jail along with Indira Gandhi in the past and never compromised with his principles. He revealed that at present the Congress leaders are arrested they call police heads to release them within an hour and this is the reason Congress is not moving ahead. He elaborated that he had spent nights in rural India for the party and built the Congress with blood.
In an short reference to Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Azad said that Congress is not made by computers, tweets, SMSes. He further alleged that misinformation about him is being created on WhatsApp and wished that Congress might live in its tweets and he get to live on the ground with ordinary and poor people.
Recalling his 2.5 years of chief ministership of J&K, Mr. Azad said he introduced the triple shift work system to complete development projects, which is not even practiced in countries like Britain.
Whereas, Mr. Azad has showered all praises on the local leaders who joined him in the past two weeks and they have tendered their resignations for him and also informed him about their joining. He added that it was just a start and in see what happens in coming days.
Several prominent leaders, including former deputy chief minister Tara Chand, Kuldeep Sharma from Akhnoor, former MLA Ashok Sharma ministers and legislators who resigned from the Congress in his support, former PDP legislator Syed Bashir and former MLA Shoaib Nabi Lone from the Apni Party shared the dias with Azad.
Mr Azad also announced that he would be travelling to the Chenab valley and the Kashmir valley after the four-day Jammu tour.
