STATE TIMES NEWS
UDHAMPUR: Peeved over the despicable surrenders and blunders of the BJP which betrayed the aspirations of the people of Jammu Pradesh and youth in particular, scores of Panther Party workers wearing black bands on their arms assembled at party office in Udhampur and took out a massive protest rally seeking regularisation and release of pending wages of the daily wagers working in various departments. The rally which was spearheaded by Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and Balwant Singh Mankotia State President JKNPP after passing through Mukherjee Bazaar culminated at Salathia Chowk where the leaders addressed the gathering.
The protestors shouting anti- BJP and anti-government slogans blocked the highway which resulted in a huge traffic jam for more than an hour. Addressing the gathering, Harsh said that BJP which was voted to power in the country and the State had failed to realise its grandiloquent promise of ‘Achey Din’ for good governance, development, employment opportunities, literacy, poverty alleviation, etc and was only indulging in rabble rousing and hollow rants for vote bank politics.
Taking a pot shot at the BJP, Singh said that the Saffron Brigade was busy politicising the Indian Army’s surgical strikes across LoC on 29th September by marketing the army’s achievements as its own. He said that Indian Army had been carrying out such strikes earlier as well.
While citing examples of army’s valour, he revealed that in August 2011 a deadly tit for tat surgical strike under ‘Operation Ginger’ was carried out by Indian Army across the LoC in Kupwara which left eight Pakistani soldiers dead and while returning back it brought three enemy heads against the two Indian martyrs. Likewise, in January 2013 under ‘Operation Badla’ Indian troops completely destroyed a Pakistani post across the LoC in Poonch to avenge the decapitation of Lance Naik during which more than half a dozen Pakistani soldiers and militants were killed. He said that such strikes should be kept as ‘top secrets’ in the interest of national security and the political parties should desist from mutual recriminations for vested interests. Expressing grave concern over deteriorating socio-political plight of the State, Mankotia said that BJP had totally succumbed to the commands of Kashmiri leadership by sacrificing the aspirations of the people of Jammu region only for the greed of power. He said that daily wagers and casual workers of PHE, PDD, PWD, I&FC, Agriculture, Forest, Tourism, Health and Medical Education, etc. were languishing in open protesting for their genuine demands of regularization of services and release of pending wages for more than three years. Taking a jibe at the BJP, Mankotia said that where as the State Government had doubled the salaries of MLAs and the ministers, the state treasury remained empty for more than 60,000 daily wagers and casual workers working in various departments. He exhorted the State Government and BJP in particular to concede the genuine demands of the temporary employees otherwise Panthers Party would launch a colossal agitation against it and shall not relent unless the daily wagers and casual workers were ensured rights and justice.
Prominent persons who spoke on the occasion included Sukhdev Singh, Dhani Ram Attri, Sanjeet Kumar Sharma, Mrs. Manju Singh, Jagdev Singh Jagga, Rampal Bhagat, Amarnath Mehra, Sunil Gudda, Sanjay Sharma, Rajinder Bali, Ankit Sanson, Gushu Sharma, Praduman Singh, Paramjeet Singh, Ashok Malkan, Pradeep Kumar, Ramesh Kumar, Uttam Kumar, Rajender Kumar, Kuldeep Bhagat, Sanjay Kumar, Mastan Singh, Tarun Chauhan, Deepak Singh, Mohinder Singh, Krishan Singh, Baldev Singh, Nazir Ahmad and Punit Gupta.
