Former Congress minister Prem Sagar Aziz joins NC
Jammu: National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expressed grave concern over spurt in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the worrisome fact is that alienated young educated youth are increasingly resorting to militancy due to PDP-BJP alliance.
The former chief minister said that the neutralizing of 200 militants in 2017 is not a ‘success’ but a ‘certificate of failure’ as the number proves that more youth have joined militancy during the PDP-BJP rule.
“Instead of getting job letters, the educated youth feel lured to take guns in their hands, as they find their future bleak”, Omar Abdullah said at a function held at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan while welcoming former minister and senior leader of Pradesh Congress Committee Prem Sagar Aziz into National Conference along with his supporters.
The Working President referred to targeting of the police and CRPF personnel besides security forces in the Kashmir Valley and said spurt in violence is failure of the PDP-BJP coalition government. He said the New Year took off on a very grim note with CRPF and Police personnel besides civilians getting killed in one after another incidents.
“The claim of neutralizing of over 200 militants this year should not be projected as a success of the government but it is a ‘certificate of failure’, as more youth have joined militancy during the tenure of current dispensation than the years National Conference led government was in place in the state,” he said and added that the PDP-BJP has produced more militants than ever before. He also expressed concern over growing incidents of loot in the banks and ATMs.
Over the functioning of the PDP-BJP government, Omar Abdullah referred to the observations of Governor N N Vohra and said that his concern is a sad reflection on the governance. He said the administration will have to get its act together to reach out to the people in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions, as their problems are accumulating with each passing day since the past three years.
He said those elected to govern must realize their responsibilities rather than seeing the political power as a source of enjoyment. He said the peoples’ patience has crossed all limits as the scenario on power, drinking water, rations and development fronts is quite scary.
“As opposition, it is our designated role to highlight peoples’ problems in the State Legislature but the situation is so alarming that even the ruling parties’ lawmakers were also expressing their discomfort with the functioning of the government openly”, he added.
The Working President cautioned the people against diversionary tactics of the present dispensation as a ploy to divert the attention of people from its failures, and urged them to guard against emotive slogans aimed at dividing the society on regional and religious lines. He said the coalition partners have attained expertise in dividing the society and the only way of isolating such forces is to maintain regional and religious unity.
Welcoming Prem Aziz Sagar and his associates in the party fold, Omar said National Conference is the only and natural destination for all those believing in single entity and pluralistic identity of Jammu and Kashmir. He lauded the contribution of Prem Sagar Aziz in serving the state in different capacities and hoped that his joining will infuse new vigour to the cadre in Kathua district to serve the state and its people.
Speaking on the occasion, General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar said National Conference is a mass movement that has withstood test of times with courage and fortitude.
“A strong National Conference alone can meet the challenges confronted to the state”, Sagar said, while welcoming Aziz into the party fold.
Welcoming Aziz, Provincial President Devender Singh Rana hoped that with his joining National Conference will get further strengthened at the grass roots level.
Prominent among those who joined National Conference along with Prem Sagar Aziz included Thakur Dass Block President Congress Bani, Gori Lal General Secretary Congress, Th Neel Kant Block President Lohai Malhar, Shakeel Ahmed General Secretary Lohai Malhar, Sushil Kumar Ex Sarpanch, Shamaz Din Block Secretary Lohai Malhar, Abdul Gani Sheikh, Mohd Sadiq Rather, Jagat Singh and other workers.
Prem Sagar Aziz had joined the Congress on 12th May, 1972 and was elected as MLA in 2002. He is a former minister and close associate of former Deputy Chief Minister Late Mangat Ram.
(With inputs from KNS)
