14th December, 2014 (Sunday) - Basohli, Hiranagar & Jammu Balloon of Mission 44+ Punctured in First Four Phases; People of Jammu Won’t Get Misled: Azad Basohli/Hiranagar/Jammu, December 14: Urging the people of Jammu, Kathua & Rajouri to strengthen Congress Party, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha & Former Chief Minister of J&K said that the vote in favour of Congress Party will be a vote for empowerment, equitable development, harmony and prosperity of the State. Ghulam Nabi Azad said that despite the hype & hoopla that the BJP tried to weave around it’s so called mission 44+, the voting trends of first four phases clearly point towards resurgence of Congress in all the three regions of the State and that the people of Jammu have to take a wise decision to script a destiny of empowerment and progress. “I call upon the discerning and sagacious citizenry of Jammu, Kathua & Rajouri not to get mislead by the hollow statements of BJP and make an informed choice, as it has not been able to open its account so far in the first four phases of the poling”, said Azad. He said that the political party which has no presence in Kashmir Valley, Ladakh and large parts of Jammu region will not be able to form the Government in the State and that Congress with its pan- Jammu Kashmir presence always has earned the confidence of all sections of the society. Addressing series of public meetings in Dhani-Bhagta (Basohli), Rajpura (Hiranagar), Marh, Raipur Domana, Bishnah, R S Pura and Jammu Cantonment Assembly Segments, seeking votes in favour of party candidates, Jagdish Raj Sapolia, Girdhari Lal Chalotra, Thakur Balwan Singh, Mula Ram, Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, Suman Lata Bhagat and Minister Raman Bhalla, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that BJP leadership has always exploited sentiments of the people of Jammu region and it has failed to come up to the expectation of the people. Lauding the people for their resolution and enthusiasm for braving bad & chilly weather to attend the public meetings, Leader of Opposition & Former Chief Minister said that this is a stark indicator of the response and support people are showing towards Congress Party. Calling upon the people to reject the divisive and narrow politics of BJP, NC and PDP, Azad said that the agenda ‘development’ and ‘good governance’ which was articulated by Congress-led Govt. has received immense support in all the regions of the State, and that there is an intense yearning in the people of the State to re-enact the era of fast-track progress and massive infrastructure building. ‘ He urged the people to display and unity and maturity at this crucial juncture and strengthen the hands of Congress Party without getting misled by the hollow slogans and exploitative tactics of BJP. “You are on the threshold of scripting a new chapter of progress, prosperity and harmony by reposing their faith in Congress party”, said Azad. Taking a dig at the Ministers of NDA Government for their vain attempts to gain power in J&K, Azad said, “if there were support in favour of BJP, what was the need for a battalion of top Central Ministers like External Affairs Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister, Defence Minister, Health Minister, and others Ministers to be stationed in Jammu and hold street meetings in every nook and corner of the State”, adding that it seems they have no time and commitment for the welfare of the people & country, and that electioneering, not governance is a priority for the NDA Government at the Centre. Asserting that there is no public support for BJP in J&K, Azad said that is why a battery of central BJP leaders and a huge contingent of actors and actresses, who are reluctant to show a glimpse on television even after charging crores of rupees, are thronging the streets and lanes of Jammu, Kathua and Samba. While appreciating the Prime Minister’s repeated visits to J&K, Azad said that being Prime Minister of the country, it is our good fortune that he comes so often, but his visits have not brought any respite to the common man of the State and that most of the times he has visited either to inaugurate the projects completed by UPA Government or seek votes from the public, adding that this is not supposed to be the primary job of the Prime Minister. “This is an election for the State Assembly and people are going to elect the Chief Minister and the State Government”, said Azad. Charging the BJP for its U-turn on the core issues like Article 370, ceasefire violations, terrorists violence, appeasement of separatists, etc, Azad said that people of Jammu are feeling cheated and duped, as the BJP Government has maintained intriguing silence on these issues. “UPA Government was dubbed as ‘inefficient’, ‘weak’, ‘indecisive’ and at times ‘traitor’ by the BJP leadership on ceasefire violations, but eversince it has come to power in the Centre, there is no pause in the ceasefire violations and war -like situation was witnessed in the month of August 2014”, said Azad. Questioning the BJP and the NDA Govt. Azad said, “Scores of army and security jawans have been killed on the borders and in terrorist violence, our innocent civilians have lost lives on the borders and Prime Minister and the BJP Government try to console the people of the State by calling them ‘brave’ and showing lip sympathy”, said Azad adding that where are those tall claims of BJP leadership which it used to make before coming to power at the Centre”? Launching a broadside against NDA Government, Azad sought to know the stand of BJP on Article 370, on incidents of firing by Pakistan, the upsurge in terrorist related incidents, including two fidayeen attacks in Jammu as well as in Kashmir. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad charged the BJP for changing its stand to hoodwink the common masses of the state just for lust of votes. Castigating the BJP leadership for indulging into deceitful tactics to hoodwink the gullible people, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad further pointed out that except exploiting sentiments of the people, the BJP in state as well as in rest of the country, have done nothing concrete for the common masses. Highlighting that it is Congress party which has restlessly made efforts for the upliftment of downtrodden people and those living in remote and hilly belts of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad said that “it is the beauty of Congress party that carry people from all walks of life on board and never tried to play politics on caste, community or religious lines.” While on the other hand, Mr Azad said that “Congress party has always efforted for the development of the country and formulated policies for the upliftment of the poor and down trodden population. Hundreds of power projects, Schools, Universities, Colleges, laying of numerous highways, flyovers, Establishment of number of Super Speciality Hospitals, setting up of new Medical Colleges, connecting majority of the villages with town areas and town areas with cities are just few examples out of the long list of Congress parties achievements made for the people of the country”. Coming down heavily on BJP leadership for indulging into misinformation campaign against Congress, LoP and former Chief Minister Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad pointed out that “Who provided basic facilities to the people since Independence? Who raised such a vast infrastructure like Hospitals, Government Buildings? Who laid Rail Lines? Which party ensured Air Services across the country and abroad? Who brought Green Revolution in the Country? Who brought IT revolution? It is all due to the concerted efforts of great leaders like Prime Ministers Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indir Gandhi, Manmohan Singh that India is on the path of prosperity.” “What BJP is doing? It is just inaugurating the mega projects which were built and completed by Congress party,” pointed out Mr Azad and further added that “In Jammu and Kashmir also. We initiated big infrastructure projects in all the three regions of the state. You see Hospitals, road connectivity, schools, Degree Colleges, University campuses, Medical Colleges, widening of Jammu-Srinagar national highway, numerous drinking water supply schemes, power supply to all almost every village and remote belt of the state. It is not BJP but tireless efforts of Congress party that the people of the state are on the path of development and prosperity.” Lashing out at BJP for its divisive politics, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad said that “political parties like BJP, who have nothing to offer to the people and have done nothing for the welfare of the state, just fall back upon religion and caste lines to muster support to grab power. Use of religion and caste during elections is fatal for democracy.” He further said that “We can sustain and flourish the democracy only as long as the elections are on the basis of policies and programmes irrespective of any caste, colour or religion. Playing with religion is just like playing unity and integrity of the country and for Congress, unity and integrity is more important than any other issues.” Exhorting the enlightened people of Jammu & Kashmir to think through coolly about the future of the State as well as its youth, Azad said that the need of the hour is to build a new narrative of harmony and amity, as the politics of polarization pursued by BJP and the regional parties has done enough damage to achieve the goal of the progress and peace of the State.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 15:10:02 +0000
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