Jammu,: Jammu & Kashmir National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday said that it was JKNC that played a crucial role in revitalizing the democratic process in Jammu & Kashmir after the tumultuous 1990s saying in 1996 elections, when few were willing to participate, JKNC took the bold step of entering the political arena to safeguard people of Jammu and Kashmir from the challenging times.
He said this while addressing a one-day party convention in Baran, Bhalwal in Nagrota today. The convention was organized by party’s Additional General Secretary Ajay Kumar Sadhotra and was coordinated by District president Jammu Rural Raghbir Singh Manhas. Party’s Additional General Secretary Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Provincial Presidents Rattan Lal Gupta, Nasir Aslam Wani, party leaders Abdul Gani Malik, babu Ram Pal, Surinder Choudhary, Sheikh Bashir, Ali Mohammad Dar, Altaf Ahmad Wani, YNC Provincial President Ajaz Jan, Bimla Luthra, AG Teli, Shamim Akhtar, Shamshaad Shan and party functionaries were present on this occasion.
Even After 1990, Jammu and Kashmir’s entire structure was destroyed during the turbulent period, there was no such thing as democracy and work culture, most of the bridges, government buildings, schools and other educational institutions were destroyed and people were under the shadow of fear.
Addressing the gathering Dr. Farooq said that the National Conference started the reconstruction of Jammu and Kashmir in 1996 at a time when there were no bridges, no government structures, no accessible roads and no functioning institutions. “We not only improved the environment gradually but also built thousands of schools, colleges, bridges and roads and provided more than 150,000 government jobs in a period of 6 years,” he said adding, “We introduced schemes like Rehber e Taleem, Rehber e Ziraat and on-the-spot DG Recruitment for people living in remote areas and brought the troubled state system back on track.”
Dr. Farooq said that those who keep on repeating peace and development here today are trying to mislead people with mere words. “The amount of welfare work that the National Conference has done for the development of Jammu and Kashmir and for the people cannot be replicated,” he said.
Criticizing those spreading misinformed propaganda about Article 370, he said that thanks to this article, the people here got ownership rights on lands and benefits like free education. “Article 370 was the legacy of Maharaja Hari Singh, which was undemocratically, unconstitutionally and unilaterally taken away. The people of Jammu, unfortunately have to bear the brunt of the abrogation of Article 370.”(GNS)
