JAMMU: Criticizing the ongoing political, economic and social onslaught on Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Democratic Party president and former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has said that attempts were now being made to create wedge between the two regions for vested interests.
“Kashmir and Jammu regions have always been economically and socially dependent on each other. The cultural and social diversity of this erstwhile State has been its strength and all attempts in the past to shutter this bound have failed”, she said adding that the social and non-political organizations have to come forward in order to stop the forces who are at play to divide people on cultural, linguistic and religious lines”. Mufti arrived in Jammu on a three-day visit, during which she will meet party district units besides social organizations from across the region. Various deputations called on her at the party office to apprise about the problems being faced by the people here.
Interacting with the deputations she said that Jammu faced the worst brunt due to abrogation of special status on August 5, 2019 and now the very identity of this region was at stake. “Jammu is at receiving end of all the measures taken by the present dispensation post abrogation of Article 370. Most of the orders issued in last two years have crippled the economy of this city, once known as the economic capital of Jammu and Kashmir”, she said. Former CM said that her party has always put interests of this region ahead of the organizational politics and it was due to this reason that respecting the mandate of Jammu, PDP took the most unpopular decision of entering into an alliance with BJP after 2014 elections. “However, the region was betrayed by the very people, who were elected to power by Jammu. Even today those `so called people’ and organizations, who claim to represent Jammu, are compromising with every relevant issue of the region to please their masters in New Delhi”.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included, Ch Abdul Hameed, Amreek Singh Reen, Abdul Rasheed Malik, Rajinder Manhas, Ashok Jogi, Surjit Kour and Dr Ramesh Salathia.
