STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here on Monday that BJP is the only political Party which has consistently stood for the cause of Jammu and the Dogras.
Addressing a mega road show here today in support of Jugal Kishore Sharma, BJP candidate for the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency, Dr Jitendra Singh said, BJP and the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh have been vociferously advocating the cause of Jammu and Dogras right from the times of the greatest Dogra of post-independence India namely Prem Nath Dogra, the founder of the Praja Parishad and former National President of Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
He said, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and then the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu was espousing the cause of Jammu and Dogras even at times when the Congress and its allies including the National Conference were continuously discriminating against this region and afflicting all kinds of hardship and injustice on Dogras and the people of Jammu region. Taking a dig at opposition leaders who now claim to be the protagonists of Jammu and the Dogras, Dr Jitendra said, these are the leaders who had been for over half a century, dancing to the tune of their masters who discriminated against Jammu and Dogras because of their vote bank politics. At that time, he said, none of these leaders dared to raise their voice in support of Jammu or the Dogras. But the moment these same leaders found themselves out of job or out of power, they suddenly took up the cause of Jammu and the Dogras to seek the lost political space for themselves and to keep themselves relevant by playing with the sentiments of the local people.
Dr Jitendra said, if Prem Nath Dogra had even slightly dithered from his crusade, he could have easily become a Minister or part of the then government headed by Sheikh Abdullah or Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, but he stood by his ground, unlike these so-called protagonists who have suddenly emerged as the sympathisers of Jammu and the Dogras after having enjoyed the loaves and fishes of the office for years together and inflicted all kinds of injustice on this region.
Dr Singh said, those of the opposition leaders who seek votes in the name of Jammu are the ones who had discriminated against the Jammu youth in jobs and also in admission to higher educational institutions. Those who are today raising the cause of Dogras are the ones responsible for having cancelled the Dogra Certificate thus depriving the youth of this region of recruitment in Armed Forces and they also denied 4% reservation to the youth residing on the International border(IB).
Dr Jitendra said, it is a foregone conclusion that Narendra Modi will be sworn as Prime Minister for the third term in the month of June with 400 plus and the common man of India wishes to be like that.
He said, the responsibility now for us is to try to vote to the maximum so that when Modi forms the next government with 400 plus, the count should also include the Jammu constituency which has traditionally been a stronghold of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and later that of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Dr Singh said, the vote this time is not simply a political vote but a vote of reverence and respect for Prime Minister Modi who has rolled out a series of people-centric, particularly women-centric, welfare schemes with a great deal of sensitivity and without any bias or discrimination .

‘Assembly polls in J&K to take place soon’

New Delhi: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said that Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held soon and the people of the Union Territory are enthusiastic about participating in the electoral process to support the BJP’s development agenda.
Speaking to PTI, he asserted that normalcy has been restored in J-K but the opposition parties were involved in a “wrong” portrayal of the ground situation after the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 which gave a special status to the erstwhile state.
“Opposition parties are engaged in a wrong portrayal of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Normalcy has been restored in Jammu and Kashmir after scrapping Article 370. Elections in Jammu and Kashmir will happen soon, as stated by Prime Minister Modi in a recent rally in Udhampur. It has to happen and it will happen soon,” the BJP leader said. There is no elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the BJP withdrew from its coalition with the PDP in 2018. It has been under the Centre’s rule, which also saw the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and J-K being divided into two Union territories. The Supreme Court had in December last upheld the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and said steps should be taken to conduct the election to the Union territory’s Assembly by September 30, 2024.
On the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, Singh said the people are upbeat in Jammu and Kashmir about the development carried out in the region and are supporting the BJP.
“There is special enthusiasm among people. A common person in J-K is very enthusiastic to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-people policies. They are especially motivated to help Modi win over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
“‘Nari Shakti’ or women are participating in large numbers and they are exceptionally motivated to vote for the BJP due to Modi’s welfare schemes meant for them,” said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.
Singh is the BJP candidate from J-K’s Udhampur constituency, where polling was held on April 19. He is a two-term sitting Lok Sabha member from the constituency.
“The main agenda of this Lok Sabha polls and in Jammu and Kashmir especially is development. The Centre is always committed to further development of the Union territory and ensuring jobs for youths,” he said.
Singh said Prime Minister Modi ended the politics of discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Previous governments discriminated against regions of the erstwhile state due to vote bank politics. But, the BJP-led central government has ensured that the benefits of central schemes reach every eligible beneficiary in Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of caste, community or gender,” he said.