Centre neglected J&K in recently announced Budget: National Conference

The NC demanded special Budget package claiming the region deserves this bounty more than any other state in the country.

Jammu: Hitting out at the ruling BJP for propagating a "bogus" development narrative on Jammu and Kashmir to "fool people", the National Conference on Tuesday said the "proxy" government has failed to provide even very basic amenities, including water and electricity to people of the Union Territory.

The National Conference (NC) took a dig at the Centre for "utter neglect" of Jammu and Kashmir in the recently announced Budget and demanded special Budget package claiming the region deserves this bounty more than any other state in the country. 

"Leave aside the bogus development narrative created by the BJP leadership in Jammu and Kashmir. The proxy government has even failed to provide the very basic amenities, including water and electricity to people of the Union Territory," National Conference additional general secretary and former minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra told reporters on sidelines of a public rally in Samba. 

He questioned the government on "acute shortage of power and water supply, lack of medical facilities and shortage of manpower" in several government departments.

Sadhotra said that the entire region is facing the "indifference" of the government with the masses left with no other option but to wait for polls to "teach a lesson to failed leadership of the saffron party, which is totally unconcerned towards public issues".  Sadhotra also highlighted the "dismal" condition of industries in the Union Territory alleging that except making "castles in air", the government has nothing in offing for the industries and industrialists of the region.

"We demanded a proportionate financial support and change in policy to rejuvenate the sick industry in the UT as this could change the development profile of J&K in real terms," he said. 

He said that the people at helm should take lessons from the working of previous NC governments which had "created many industrial hubs in the erstwhile state of J&K and accomplished a lot to make the industry vibrant and profit earning".  

Echoing similar sentiments, National Conference provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta said the central government has neglected Jammu and Kashmir in the recently announced Union Budget. 

Gupta said the Union government should revisit its decision with regard to providing special package to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh because it is Jammu and Kashmir, "which currently needs such a bounty" from the government side to rebuild its infrastructure which "has been perished during the last over three decades of terrorism". 

He asked the party workers to gear up for ensuing Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Gupta also urged the people to support the National Conference in the ensuing Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asserting that only the National Conference can guarantee protection of the land and job rights to people, he said it is therefore imperative to strengthen the hands of the party leadership for bailing out the region from the "current morass created by poor governance of directionless BJP leaders".