Accusing the J&K administration of circumventing the Supreme Court directions by prolonging the ban on high speed mobile internet services in J&K time and gain, scores of Panther activists led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP staged a vociferous protest demonstration at Gandhi Nagar in Jammu today. While demanding immediate restoration of full fledged 4G mobile internet services, the angry protesters raised anti-govt slogans and torched effigy of BJP government to express their resentment.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh lambasted the govt. for continuing with its policy of suppression and facilitating organized loot of millions of mobile subscribers. “Not only the people are barred from accessing mobile internet services by the government but they are also robbed of their hard earned money by the telecom service providers. The capitalist companies are charging the regular tariff from millions of subscribers without providing them the facility of 4G services. In view of these companies hiking their tariffs of late, the volume of extortion is beyond imagination since 5th August 2019. People have been blatantly duped during the Corona pandemic with no one to take cognizance. Should subscribers not get the refund for having been kept deprived of mobile internet services despite making payment for actual tariff plans?”, angry Harsh asked. He divulged that in view of the Supreme Court orders passed in January this year directed the J&K administration to review curbs on mobile internet services to restore it in the manner it was before 5th of August 2019, the govt. contemptuously continued to defy the orders.
Asserting that prevalent 2G services on mobile phones has made a mockery of the users, Mr. Singh said it was exceptionally feeble, slow and disallows access to all the sites. “While the students still continue to suffer in attending on-line classes in view of Corona pandemic, the online services including the procurement of the domicile certificate remain inaccessible in the far flung areas due to the absence of 4G internet services. The commercial houses, the traders, the businessmen, the professionals and the media fraternity have incurred huge losses worth crores. Why the nationalistic Jammu region has been put under siege? Why should our people suffer for the wrongdoings committed in Kashmir?”, questioned Harsh. Asserting that free wi-fi services inaugurated at six places in Jammu city recently had only proved a hoax, Mr. Singh said that such dramatics are theatrically exaggerated by the government for mere media consumption and to divert the attention of the public at large from the core issues. “ It has been reported that no such services are made available to the people at these places and such futile projects under the garb of development are only announced to befool the masses in view of their growing resentment against the government”, anguished Harsh said.. .
Questioning the criminal silence of the Jammu based BJP leaders on the sensitive issue, he said that the Saffron govt. after assuming power resorted to the nasty policy of coercion and oppression. He asked the government to tighten its security network to curb the anti national and subversive elements mongering on social media and cautioned the telecom giants to stop looting the people. Prolonged internet blockade of this kind is bizarre. Panthers party would be forced to launch a huge stir if full fledged high speed 4G mobile internet services are not restored at the earliest”, roared Harsh.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Pratap Singh, Surinder Chouhan, Ravinder Singh Jamwal, Yash Paul Sharma, Nirmal Kishore, Gurdeep Singh@Raju, Kirti Fangotra, Hakim Din, Sunny Verma, Rahul Verma, Ranjeet Singh besides others.