SAMBA: Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla has alleged that the border dwellers have been totally ignored by the BJP Government and a feeling of alienation is growing in their minds and hearts.
It was stated by the Congress leader while addressing a public gathering at Ramgarh in Samba district. The event was organized by chairman of JKPCC Ex-servicemen Cell Swarn Singh at Panchayat Swankha. Bhalla asked the Centre and J&K Governments to wake up from deep slumber and solve the problems of the border dwellers residing along the international border and LoC. Earlier, locals appraised him about prevailing ground situation and put forth a number of demands with main including special border area recruitment, regularization of all SPOs and eradication of menace of drugs. He assured them that all the issues shall be taken up with concerned higher authorities. Bhalla accused the BJP Government of ‘manufacturing controversies’ and using emotions to divide people, so that they do not raise issues of misgovernance and economic mismanagement.”They do this to keep us blinded by overwhelming emotions.
They do not want us to see the impact of their bad governance on our lives and livelihoods,” he added. The Congress leader said the BJP does not want people to be outraged about unemployment, collapse of MSMEs, failure of foreign policy, border mismanagement, farm crisis and women’s safety. “The Government does not want people to be outraged by the suffering of farmers, unemployed youth and the middle class due to their ‘anti-people policies,” he added. “The J&K Governments have miserably failed to fulfil their promise of providing five marlas of plot at safer places to each family residing near IB and LoC and soft bank loan for construction of houses,” said Bhalla and adding that the long pending promise of Centre and J&K Government to construct community bunkers and individual bunkers have also become a day dream for border dwellers. Nominal ex-gratia has been given to the victims of Pak shelling that too in instalments, he alleged. Continuing his attack on BJP Govt, Bhalla slammed the Central Government over rising inflation in the country. He said the Government is pushing people in the swamp of price rise just to earn taxes.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Sanjeev Sharma, Babal Gupta, Jagpreet Kour, Col Swarn Singh, Bishan Choudhary, Jagdeep Singh, Darshan Singh, Kulwant Singh, Hardev Singh, Soudagar Singh, and Suchet Singh beside others.
