DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
JAMMU, Apr 3
Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta on Wednesday said that abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government has been a historic step towards ensuring rights and welfare of Valmiki community, which had been denied rights for decades due to the discriminatory provisions of the aforesaid Article of Constitution.
The BJP stalwart was speaking during a strategic meeting convened here at Valmiki Colony in Ward No. 20 Gandhi Nagar in view of upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While presiding over the crucial meeting, he said that the BJP Government led by PM Narendra Modi has rekindled the hopes of scores of Valmiki community members, who used to live on the land allocated to their ancestors brought from Punjab by J&K government in 1957 but were denied erstwhile state’s ‘subjectship’ and entailing rights. He said that under the discriminatory regimes that used to rule the erstwhile J&K State, only state subject holders had the rights to buy and own land and take up government jobs. He said that PM Modi had ensured equitable rights to all including the Valmikis and that is the reason behind this community living with its members’ heads held high as it was the incumbent government which made provisions for allowing them to live with dignity and pride. He said that the gross injustice with Valmikis was a result of the discriminatory provisions of Article 370 but now the Modi government has bailed out the Valmikis from decades of rights denial. “The Valmiki community in J&K is now enjoying the same rights and privileges as any other citizen of the country, including the right to vote, own property, and access government services and benefits. The Modi government’s rightful decision has not only ensured justice for the Valmiki community but has also paved the way for the overall development and progress of UT”, he said adding that BJP now expects that the community should reciprocate responsibly by extending wholehearted support to BJP candidates in Lok Sabha polls to make sure that the journey for removal of deprivation of rights to people should continue unabated and development process could gain added momentum. Others present in the meeting include Bharat Bushan (Mandal President), Divya Jain President Mahila Morcha District South, Rikki Gupta ( State Executive Member), Rahul kumar (Ex Councilor Ward 20), Rachit Khosla, Satbir Singh, Vijay Verma, Gharu Bhatti, Jung Bahadur, Kashmiro Devi, and Naresh Gupta.
