Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday said his government will work with all sections of the population for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir “at an early opportunity”.
A 24-member delegation of the newly formed Jammu and KashmirApni Party (JKAP), led by its leader AltafBukhari, called on the Prime Ministerat his residence Saturday evening and discussed with him various issues likeconcerns about demographic changes, the delimitation exercise and grant ofstate domicile, officials said.
“Referring to his statement in Parliament, the PrimeMinister underlined that the government will work with all sections of thepopulation to realize the hopes of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at an earlyopportunity,” an official statement said.
During an interactive session with the delegation, the PrimeMinister called for ‘Janbhagidari’ (people’s participation) in transforming theunion territory and emphasised on the importance of an administration thatgives voice to the people.
Modi also noted that democracy in the region could bestrengthened through a fast-moving process of political integration, thestatement said.
The PM also spoke about youth empowerment and emphasisedthat youngsters should act as catalytic agents for the development of Jammu andKashmir. He highlighted the importance of skill development and creating newemployment opportunities for the youth to bring in an overall transformation inthe UT, it said.
Extending full support fromthe government to resolve all issues being faced by the people of the Jammu andKashmir, the Prime Minister also assured the delegation that the Centre iscommitted to the region’s economic development through extensive focus oninfrastructure development and creating new investment opportunities in sectorslike tourism.
During the meeting,President of the newly formed ‘Apni Party’ AltafBukhari said that August 5 lastyear, when the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370 of theConstitution was revoked, was a “watershed moment” in history.
The delegation thanked the Prime Minister for his “unstintedsupport” and “untiring efforts” towards the development of the UT and alsoappreciated the efforts of the government, security agencies and the people ofJammu and Kashmir towards maintaining peace and security in the region, thestatement said.
JKAP was formed on March 8 by Bukhari, the erstwhile state’sformer finance minister, along with 30 political leaders from various regionaland national parties, with an aim to pitch for restoration of statehood toJammu and Kashmir and ensure domicile rights over the land and jobs there.
A week after its formation, the Bukhari-led delegation metthe Prime Minister and had a marathon meeting with him — the first suchmeeting post abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of theerstwhile state into two Union Territories in August last year.
After the meeting, Bukhari said the Prime Minister heardthem patiently and assured that all central laws will be made applicable in theUnion Territory.
JKAP had welcomed the release of National Conference patronFarooq Abdullah on Friday.
The issue of political prisoners was also raised during themeeting and a request was made to the Prime Minister to release all thedetained leaders from preventive detention, he said.
PEOPLE IN JK HAVE APPREHENSIONS
The J&K Apni Party(JKAP), which is projecting itself as a third front against the two mainpolitical parties of Kashmir, in its first meeting with Prime MinisterNarendraModi in the national capital on Saturday told him that people inJ&K have several apprehensions regarding their land, jobs and businessesfollowing the nullification of Article 370.
Ghulam Hassan Mir, one of the main architects of the ApniParty, in an interview to IANS just before the delegation went to meet thePrime Minister, said the visit was necessary to put forward the point of viewof Kashmiri people before the Centre.
“There is a new dimension to politics in J&K since theloss of statehood and nullification of Article 370. We are a regional partywith a national outlook. We want to work for the welfare of our people in theregion and with a national consensus. We have no confusion about it. We willwork with the Centre regardless of who is in power. We are not going to misleadpeople and promise them anything that’s unrealistic as NC (National Conference)and PDP did,” he said.
A public school teacher-turned-politician Mir said that thedelegation was visiting New Delhi to request Prime Minister Modi to reach outto people in the state.
“Today there is aconvergence of issues in Kashmir and Jammu, after the abrogation of Article370. People in both the regions are worried that if J&K youth have tocompete with the youth of the rest of the country in education, jobs andbusiness, they will end up being losers. Similarly, there is anxiety aboutland, environment now that anyone can buy and settle in J&K. But above all,there is a sense of disenfranchisement by the reduction of J&K state to aUnion Territory. We demand restoration of statehood and we will keep raisingall these issues as a party,” he said.
Though politicians inJ&K have accused JKAP of being an ally of the BJP in the state, Mirdismissed it. “We spoke to the people in Kashmir and asked them what theywanted. Common people are facing problems and want their redressal. We formed apolitical party to mitigate their miseries and we will follow the democraticprocess by going back to them. People and time will prove that we areindependent. We will oppose the BJP wherever and whenever it is required.”
The Apni Party comprises several former NC and PDPlegislators and members, Mir said, and had only leadership to offer to peoplein J&K. “We are talking about people and we will talk about everyone. Wedon’t have anything else to offer,” he said rubbishing the accusation that theApni Party had poached members from the two main political parties of Kashmir.
“Detention of political leaders is not acceptable in ademocracy. We all were detained and ever since we got released, we have beenasking for the release of others as well,” Mir said before he met the PM today.(With inputs from IANS)