JAMMU: Disseminating the policies and programmes of Panthers Party, former Minister and JKNPP Chairman, Harsh Dev Singh claimed that NPP was the lone crusader fighting for the cause of Jammu region and for socio-economic advancement of Dogras. He said that the Panthers Party had been fighting from streets to Supreme Court for ensuring justice to the hitherto deprived Dogra land.
Appealing the people to strengthen their own regional party, Singh vowed not to relent and to take the fight for Jammu to its logical conclusion.
While addressing public meetings in villages Sail Kori Bair, Sarail and Chua in Majalta Tehsil, Harsh lambasted the Coalition Government particularly the BJP for failing to translate any of its election time promises into reality. He said that BJP had not only ignored its election manifesto but had inflicted the biggest dent upon Dogra pride by its successive surrenders on Jammu centric issues. He said the BJP which had donned the mantle of Jammu’s saviours prior to elections had given the Dogras a shocker of their lifetimes by their contemptuous and irresponsible conduct after assuming power. He said that various sections of society who had supported the saffron brigade with unprecedented mandate were seething with anger against the surrenders and blunders of BJP.
Expressing his strong disapproval of the recent steep increase in the prices of food grains, Harsh called upon the government to roll back the same in view of severe hardships caused to the common man. He said that huge increase in the prices of ‘Atta’ and Rice had received all-round condemnation from the general public who had been awaiting the arrival of “Achhe Din” with baited breath. He said that the sharp hike of Rs. 5 per kg in the price of Atta from Rs. 8 per to 13 per kg with further increase in the price of Rice from Rs. 10 to 15 was most unreasonable and could not be justified by any stretch of imagination. He said that spurt was unprecedented as it amounted to 63 per cent increase in the price of Atta and 50 per cent increase in the price of rice which posed the most menacing threat to the pockets of the common man.
On local issues, Singh strongly condemned the smuggling and black marketing of ration by unscrupulous officials of CAPD in various villages, and sought initiation of appropriate criminal proceedings against offending officials who had been caught red handed but had escaped unpunished due to political patronage and corruption plagued system.
Condemning Udhampur District administration for its inordinate delay in releasing compensation to the farmers for lands acquired from them under PMGSY, Singh regretted that the highly apathetic officials had delayed the same by more than three years. He called for fixation of responsibility for in-ordiante delay as the poor farmers were forced to starvation due to non disbursement of compensation amount which had been released by GOI in 2012-13. He expressed grave concern over the patronized corruption prevailing in various government Depots including PHE and RDD which had brought the developmental schemes to a grinding halt. He regretted inordinate delay in payment of liabilities and wages to workers under NREGA and others schemes by RDD which had brought untold miseries for the labour class.