BISHNAH (JAMMU), Sept 28: Alleging that policies in the Jammu and Kashmir are being framed to benefit the outsiders , AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today said that BJP is using the Union Territory as a pawn to ‘stir emotions’ elsewhere in the country.“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 immediately restore your Statehood. We will also revive the tradition of the Darbar Move,” Priyanka said while addressing a large public rally at Bishnah in support of Congress candidate, Neeraj Kundan today.
“BJP leaders have turned Jammu and Kashmir into a pawn in their political chess game as policies are not being made for the people of the region. They are created to stir emotions across the country using you and serve political purposes,” Gandhi said.
Congress leader criticised Lt Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, saying the current administration was a ‘puppet Government’ being run with a remote control from New Delhi.
Launching scathing attack on Amit Shah for his remarks on the Statehood issue, Gandhi said “I found it amusing when the Home Minister said in his speech that if you want Statehood back, you must vote for us. But the fact is, they are the ones who took it away. It is like a thief who steals your TV and then says, ‘If you want it back, ask me,’ she asserted.
“They claim only they can return it. If our Government comes to power, we will immediately restore your statehood,” Gandhi said hitting out at the BJP Government for “downgrading” J&K into a Union Territory.“This is the peak of the country. Nature has given you everything-these resources, this beauty. From here came the great sages who spread faith, culture and teachings not only in India but in other countries too,” Gandhi added,
But the BJP has snatched everything you have, the Congress leader remarked.
Recalling her grandmother Indira Gandhi’s “deep bond” with Kashmir, she said, “Four or five days before Indira Gandhi’s assassination, she told us she wanted to visit Kashmir and see the autumn leaves of Chinar. She brought us to the Kheer Bhawani temple, and just a few days after returning to Delhi, she was assassinated.
“It was a call from her land and Mata that took her to Kashmir,” she reminisced, emphasising her family’s longstanding relationship with the region.
Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her speech, saying he was not serious about the concerns of the people of J&K.
“Even in Modi Ji’s speech, there was no seriousness about the genuine concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Fixing railway station like Katra is not an achievement to boast about when the bigger issues of your rights, land, inflation and employment are being ignored,” she said.
“What really matters are the genuine concerns of the people. Why aren’t those being addressed? Why aren’t they focusing on the truth? Why did the Prime Minister take away your State’s status?
The Congress leader also raised the issue of unemployment in her speech, claiming that half of the contracts meant for J&K had been awarded to outsiders. “You have been deprived of your voting rights, and small businesses are being crushed by large business houses. Why is Jammu and Kashmir lagging behind in employment? Why is there so much unemployment?”
Big Reliance stores are opening, and small businesses are being crushed, she said.
The BJP Government, she said, has established a “system of loot, with a puppet Government running things by remote control”, she said.
“Land banks are being created, and your lands are being handed over to big industrialists, the same ones whom Modi has favoured across the country. The same is happening here in Jammu and Kashmir,” Gandhi added.
The Congress leader added that the Prime Minister is “promoting Ambani and Adani” at the Centre, and in J-K, the LG “is favouring his friends”.
“Nothing is being done for you. A Dalit officer exposed the scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission, and instead of investigating, the officer is harassed. There should be a probe into this, but instead, you harass the officer,” she regretted.
Criticising the Government on the Agnipath Scheme, Gandhi said, “They introduced Agniveer, a scheme that gives nothing to those who risk their lives on the borders and become martyrs. This is why all opposition parties are fighting and raising this issue repeatedly in Parliament and outside.
“This Government and the Prime Minister are so arrogant that even though they know the scheme is wrong and not beneficial for the youth, they refuse to roll down,” she said.
Referring to the increasing drug addiction problem in the region, Priyanka said no BJP leader talks about it because they know the root cause is unemployment. Menace of ‘Chitta’ has spoiled lives of many J&K youth. “Due to joblessness, people are falling prey to the drug mafia,” she asserted.
She called on the people of Jammu and Kashmir to vote wisely, underlining that the Congress’s vision includes the restoration of statehood, protection of land rights of locals, and employment opportunities for its people.
Meanwhile, Congress questioned the J&K Union Territory administration over the failure to facilitate landing of Priyanka Gandhi chopper to address an election rally in Billawar in support of party candidate Dr Manohar Lal.
“Priyanka Gandhi’s Billawar rally was sabotaged by the administration. The landing spot of her chopper was set up in an isolated place, over 35 kilometers away from the rally spot”, senior vice president and chief spokesperson of JKPCC Ravinder Sharma told media persons, demanding enquiry besides urging Election Commission to look into the matter.
