Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP government alleging that every section of the society, including farmers, traders, youths and government employees were fed up with this “anti-people” dispensation. The situation in J&K is going from bad to worse,” he alleged. He called on Congress workers to take the message of party to every village and town in J&K. Interacting with party workers of Bhour Camp area of Gandhi Nagar constituency as a part of door to door campaign to listen to public issues, Bhalla said that J&K is on ventilator under the BJP rule. The party has failed on all fronts. Amrit Bali Block President, Pawan Bhagat Congress contesting candidate JMC Ward 73, Jagmohan Sharma ,Dr Romesh Kumar, Raj Kumar ,Gurbachan Kour,Harpal Singh, Sat Pal, Jai Ram accompanied Bhalla during door to door campaign. Though its leaders are claiming that all is well, but the reality is otherwise. Farmers have not been paid compensation for damaged crops, youth are jobless and development is stand still. Citing grave example of callousness of BJP, he said one of the tube wells installed at Bhour Camp Ward 2 for the purpose of irrigation has been defunct for the last five years despite bringing the same into kind notice of BJP leadership. Moreover sanitation scenario in ward deserves urgent attention of concerned authorities otherwise may invite epidemic in area, Bhalla added.
Bhalla urged the Govt to consider the long pending demands including regularization and regular wages of agitating daily wagers, need based, ITI trained, CP workers and other such categories of workers in PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department. He regretted that the UT Administration has not appreciated their genuine demands, as a result they have chosen path of protest and agitation and suspended work. This has affected the water supply in most parts in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Government has yet to respond positively to their demands. Bhalla urged upon the UT Administration to immediately concede their long pending demands and to restore water supply in the larger interest of general public. He also demanded that all genuine demands of the PHE employees of various categories be addressed, in a time bound manner, as these daily wagers are working for 10 to 15 years or more, on occasional payment of meagre wages. He said their salaries and wages for over 57 months are pending and there is no system or punctuality in payment of wages to them on regular basis, which is great injustice. He sought sympathetic view on their demands, at the earliest, since their families/children are facing great hardships in the absence of wages and lack of regularization policy.
Bhalla questioned why the assistance full package including financial assistance @Rs 25 lakh per family as recommended by the erstwhile Congress State Govt which was revised to Rs 30 lakh by Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has not been sanctioned, so far after six years of BJP rule at the Centre. He questioned the betrayal of the BJP for failure to fulfil the commitment of providing full amount of Rs 30 lakh per family as recommended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee, although Congress Govt had already recommended Rs 25 lakh per family. The BJP repeatedly committed to sanction full package including ex-gratia @ Rs 30 lakh besides reservation to the wards of POK refugees in technical institutions on the pattern of West Pakistan refugees since 2008 in various institutions throughout country.
The reservation in Central forces jobs was also part of the package recommended by the then State Government. He lashed out the delay of more than six years in sanctioning the full package to POK and West Pakistan refuges as committed by BJP leadership in 2014 elections. Still a large number of POK refugees have not been disbursed the relief despite completion of all formalities for over a year. Thousands of families have been waiting for the earlier relief of Rs 5.5 lakh and delay in disbursement is deliberate on the part of authorities. Even during recent Lok Sabha elections, BJP promised the POK refugees, the release of full amount of recommended package but today’s announcement has dismayed these people. He demanded immediate fulfilment of commitment by BJP and release of full amount to each refugee family of 1947, 1965 and 1971.