National Conference Additional General Secretary and
Former Minister Mr Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today strongly called upon the BJP to
demonstrate its commitment to the people of Jammu & Kashmir by making an
unequivocal and forceful plea to the Centre for the immediate restoration of full
statehood.
Interacting with a delegation from Basohli at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan here
this afternoon, Mr Sadhotra said that the people of Jammu, who overwhelmingly
supported the BJP in the Assembly Elections, deserve more than just empty rhetoric
- they deserve action.
Mr. Sadhotra said that if BJP truly respects the mandate it received, it must
push for statehood with the same urgency and determination that Chief Minister
Jenab Omar Abdullah displayed when he got a Resolution passed in the first session
of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on this issue. Statehood is not an
favour but democratic and constitutional right of the people in this part of the
country that used to be a biggest state under Maharaja Hari Singh ji.
“Anything less than a proactive approach from BJP leadership, particularly
its National President J. P. Nadda, would expose their indifference toward the
aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, Mr Sadhotra said while referring
the BJP’s two-day intensive workshop, Prashikshan Shivir, for its MLAs ahead of the
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s Budget Session.
Mr Sadhotra said the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir is
not merely a political demand but an essential prerequisite to restoring the dignity
and rights of the people. The current system of dual control has crippled
governance, stalled development, and eroded accountability in the administration.
The people of J&K cannot afford to suffer further due to the BJP’s indecisiveness and
politically motivated delays, he said adding that they have already suffered hugely
during the misgovernance of the insensitive double engine government for over a
decade.
Former Minister lambasted the BJP for its anti-people policies and myopic
vision regarding Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the party’s duplicity promising one
thing and doing another has deepened public resentment. Their failure to provide
effective governance, ensure transparency, and address the concerns of the
common people has left J&K in a state of stagnation and uncertainty, he added
The National Conference Additional General Secretary reiterated the
Party’s unwavering commitment to ensuring justice, democratic rights, and
equitable governance for the people of Jammu and Kashmir with equal
opportunities to both the regions and their sub-regions. The BJP must stop
misleading the public and take immediate steps to rectify its policy blunders by
prioritizing the restoration of full statehood. Anything short of this would be a
blatant betrayal of the people’s trust and the promises made in Parliament and
before the Supreme Court, he said.
Former Minster Ajay Kumar Sadhotra with a delegation from Basohli