JAMMU: Congress on Tuesday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was “alarming” and attacked the Central and state governments, saying the repeated incidents of attacks was a result of “weak and flawed” policies to deal with cross-border terror aided and abetted by Pakistan.
“We express serious concern over the deteriorating security situation in the state. We condemn the state government and the Centre over its handling of the situation which has reached alarming level,” senior vice president of J&K Congress and former Minister Sham Lal Sharma told reporters here. “The rise in militancy and the repeated incidents of attack on security forces is the result of the weak and flawed policies of the PDP-BJP government in the state and the Centre,” he added.
His comments came against the backdrop of terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pampore in Kashmir on Saturday last in which eight security personnel were killed and 21 injured.
Lambasting central and state governments, Sharma said they had totally failed in dealing with the situation. “They merely indulge in rhetorics and sermons but have no firm and consistent policy to deal with cross border terrorism and separatism aided, abetted and sponsored by Pakistan,” he said. He lambasted BJP for enacting a “drama” in the Assembly yesterday by demanding surgical operations in PoK and said “they are only fooling the masses and diverting the attention from the failure of their own government to control the situation.
The leader further added that the proposed law has provided for indirect election of sarpanch by the panchs in the Panchayat, adding, ‘’this aims at manipulating the elections to the Panchayat Raj bodies especially sarpanchs, by the present dispensation’’. ‘’If the government will not consider its withdrawal, Congress party will launch agitation across the state and aware masses of designs and ‘ill-intentions’’ of PDP-BJP government,’’ he added. “Unfortunately, while in opposition both BJP and PDP were advocating for the implementation of 73rd amendment in the state. The Congress launched a struggle in this regard ultimately the State Panchayat Raj laws were amended to incorporate the provisions of 73rd amendment in the state legislature and it received the assent of the Governor and published in Govt. gazette on March 14, 2014,’’ he said.