STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: With Peoples’ distrust in BJP having exacerbated due to its cowardly surrenders after coming to power, Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and former Minister today said that the party stood decimated in Jammu province and had yielded its space to Panthers Party.
While addressing a meeting of Bantalab and Durga Nagar residents who joined the Panthers Party here on Thursday, Harsh said that the saffron leaders who earlier groaned on trivial issues with slogans of demolishing the father – daughter party had abandoned their core philosophy only to play the role of Junior Partner in the PDP Govt. He said that in view of the BJP having melted before PDP for the lust of power, the Panthers Party had emerged as the most natural choice for the people of Jammu region.
Having taken a complete U-turn over all its professed promises and fundamentals, Singh said that the BJP had even surpassed the Congress in pampering the Kashmir rulers and in appeasing the sectarian forces in Valley. He said that it happened first time in the saffron flavoured govt that ex-gratia and jobs were announced for stone pelters and others engaged in hate India campaign. He regretted that Jammu’s share in employment witnessed a terminal decline during the present rule with highly educated youth of Jammu bearing the brunt of pusillanimity and cowardice of BJP leaders. He said that with development taking a back seat in Jammu, the people suffered emotionally as well as its mandated leaders failed to get holiday declared on Maharaja Hari Singh’s birthday with further dilution in over their stand over Art 35A and Art 370 only for the lust of power. Surrendering its age old philosophy of around seven decades and compromise over Jammu issues was a bad shot in the foot of BJP for which Jammu would have to limp for years, said Harsh.
Harsh further said that BJP had given its electorates the shocker of their lifetimes by its cowardly surrenders over the issues of Sainik Colonies and KP Townships in Kashmir, new Industrial Policy, retention of Lakhanpur Toll Plaza, Artificial Tawi Lake project besides Employment issues. Not only that he regretted that the name of Hari Parbhat had been mentioned as Kohi-e-Maran in Kashmir Festival and Anantnag was being openly referred to as Islamabad in official communications.
Accusing the BJP for inflicting multiple dents on Dogra pride by its servile conduct, Harsh Dev Singh claimed that Panthers alone could restore the lost pride and dignity of Dogras. He said that Panthers Party had launched a full throttle campaign against the neglect and deprivation of Jammu region and would not relent till the Dogra land was treated an equal partner in development and governance. He said that Panthers had though lost the battle but would eventually win the war.
Balwant Singh Mankotia said that Panthers Party was fast reclaiming the confidence of the Jammu region people due to its persistent and determined fight for their rights.
Among those who spoke on the occasion included Manju Singh, Gagan Partap Singh, Shanker Singh Chib, Rakesh Kumar Sharma and Basharat Ali.
