SRINAGAR: Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, the president of the Apni Party, on Sunday urged New Delhi to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, including their right to pick their own representatives. He also called for the quick convening of assembly elections in this region. Bukhari reaffirmed his call for the quick holding of assembly elections in J&K while speaking at a public rally on Sunday in the south Kashmir town of Anantnag. “I implore New Delhi to respect the constitutional right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to elect their own MPs.It is essential to preserve peoples’ constitutional rights in order to build democracy and democratic principles in the area, he said, given the long-standing unrest and instability in J&K. The Apni Party president urged people not to be fooled by traditional parties, especially those with dynasties and their leaders, saying that these dynasties had already undermined the region’s political and constitutional status before the BJP government finally repealed Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Over the course of years and decades, they have been complacent in hurting the interests of this region and its inhabitants.Bukhari pledged that the Apni Party will improve the socio-political and economic climate in J&K if it won the public’s support in the next assembly elections. The social, political, and economic rights of the people of J&K are something that the Apni Party is dedicated to defending. The constitution of our nation gives individuals all the rights and opportunities necessary to live a dignified and prosperous life, so we are determined to bring about positive change, he said. “We have a specific plan in place to carry out actions that will assist the local populace economically. By utilising the wealth of natural resources and opportunities in our area, we will combat the rising unemployment and help our people achieve economic prosperity, he continued. He guaranteed that the government of the Apni Party will ensure the regularisation of the hundreds of thousands of day labourers employed by various government agencies. In addition to revising the New Mining Policy to ensure that local communities can continue to extract minerals from water bodies, he added that measures would be put in place to regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol in communities throughout the valley. “We will restore the centuries-old practise of ‘Darbar Move’,” he said. Bukhari, however, urged the populace to make contributions in order to secure long-term stability in Jammu and Kashmir. “We must safeguard the next generation while giving them fresh possibilities and aspirations for a better life. Therefore, we must do our part to help create a peaceful and harmonious environment in Jammu and Kashmir, he remarked.
