Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today criticized the BJP Govt for not fulfilling their promises which they made during the elections and termed them as gimmicks to win elections. Interacting with aggrieved people of Beli Charana area of Gandhi Nagar constituency, Bhalla on Tuesday said that several promises that BJP made during election turned out to be mere political gimmicks as nothing happened on the ground.He said that no new schemes were launched for the upliftment of farmers, women and low incomes groups of the society. For the lower income groups of the society, Govt fails to envision a minimum income guarantee programme. Bhalla said government has miserably failed to live up to the expectations of the people and there is a strong resentment among the people against this government as it has not fulfilled its promises made at the time of elections. Bhalla also said that disillusionment of people with government is growing, as governance is at the lowest depth and development has taken nose dive in JK UT.“People are realizing the futility of electing a government that is not only insensitive towards their problems but also responsible in adding to these on every front”, he said.He said Congress is the only destination for those who want peace to sustain and development to remain focused agenda of the government in the JK. Bhalla also said the initiatives taken in this regard by Congress governments especially the previous one has been negated by the present anti-people dispensation.
Bhalla said BJP leadership need introspection over the failures in J&K, where it failed miserably in feeling the pulse of the people and assuaging their economic, developmental and political aspirations. He said the BJP leaders had exposed themselves during their stint in the ministry, which cost the people hugely and pushed it to uncertainty and instability.Will the BJP say how many educated unemployed youth were provided jobs in their tenure; why the flagship projects of AIIMS and three Medical Colleges are still on papers; what happened to Smart City project; why implementation of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana could not take off; why Artificial Lake Project and Tawi River Front Project on the pattern of so-called Sabarmati Project did not materialise; why the party failed to regularise the daily wagers and others despite a blueprint drawn by the previous government?” Bhalla fired a volley of questions.He also asked as to why the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state reduced the one-time settlement of POK refugees to a paltry Rs 5 lakh per family instead of the recommended Rs 25 lakh per family by the Congress led government.
While criticizing BJP ,Bhalla said that agenda of Govt is nothing but an eye wash for the people and added BJP has taken Jammu for granted and has failed to recognize the developmental priorities and represent the aspirations of the people. He said that BJP has failed to represent the sentiments and deliver the promises it made to the electorate and has been merely indulging in rhetoric to emotionally charge the people for their political interests. He said that merely strongly worded statements would not help to control the situation on the ground. He requested Lt Governor J&K UT to fill up the vacant vacancies lying in various departments on priority basis to cater to the rising problem of unemployment. He stated that many projects initiated by previous Congress Government are still waiting for their completion for the past 5 years as they were totally abandoned by BJP Government. He appealed the Lt Governor to look into the matter of regularization of teachers, daily wagers in different departments which is a long pending demand and make sure they get their pending wages released at the earliest. He said the people are now fed up with the hollow promises of BJP and have realized that Congress is the only option for country.
He said the construction of an artificial lake and the construction of a pathway and parks along the bank of the Tawi on the pattern of the Sabarmati needed to be started on a war footing to develop Jammu as a tourist destination. He said the Bahu Fort cable car project should be completed at the earliest. The State Government had proposed a cable car project worth Rs 30 crore that aimed to connect the heritage sites like Bagh-e-Bahu, Mubarak Mandi complex, Mahamaya Temple, Bawe Wali Mata Temple, Peerkho etc. These projects have potential to highlight Jammu as independent tourist destination, but unending wait for their completion has dashed hopes of a generation, besides bleeding the exchequer profusely, Bhalla added.
Expressing resentment over the stalling of mobile internet services besides imposing several other unwarranted restrictions in the peaceful districts of Jammu region, Bhalla demanded Govt to restore the same. The Govt can’t give collective punishment to society for the sins of a handful of offenders. If there are apprehensions of misuse of internet services by miscreants, this doesn’t mean that the entire system should be made to suffer. The right course would be to apprehend the anti-nationals and give them deterrent punishment, with further initiatives to strengthen the cyber security. You can’t shutdown the internet services every time you receive a report that some unknown people has posted some antinational text on social media”, Bhalla observed. Stalling mobile internet services has adversely impacted the normal life as broadband facility was not available everywhere.”Social and economic life had also been thrown out of gear,” Bhalla said.He added that the communication gag has divested the people of their fundamental right of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution.Bhalla alleged that the continuous mobile Internet ban only corroborated the fact that the present government was “incapable of curbing the anti-national elements and the offenders of the law” in Jammu and Kashmir.”Instead of tracking and apprehending the criminals, the BJP at the Centre ordered the complete shutdown of the Internet services,” he said, adding that the government should tighten its security network rather than “harassing the people for absurd and unjustifiable reasons”.