STATE TIMES NEWS
BANI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS in PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh held a series of public meetings at Tapper, Dogani and other areas of Bani Assembly Constituency where he called upon people to vote for BJP for ending injustice and discrimination meted out to the region by successive State governments.
Referring to natural scenic beauty as well as rich cultural and art heritage of Bani, Singh said that the Kashmir- centric Government has been deliberately ignoring the prospect of developing the tourist potential of this area and promoting its art.
If developed seriously, Singh said, Bani can attract major share of tourists from Kashmir Valley and that is perhaps the reason that Kashmir-centric governments have always deliberately ignored Bani.
Within his brief tenure of just six months as MP from this constituency, Singh claimed, he had already mooted a plan for developing a ‘Bani-Himachal tourist circuit’ but lack of cooperation from the NC-Congress State Government was causing the delay. “If BJP is voted to power in the State, this project can be pursued with speed and seriousness”, he added.
Singh said, “It is a strange contradiction that even as this area is only few kilometers away from the Pathankot–Kathua railway line, the State Government never made a serious bid for a rail link for this area which would have boosted both tourism as well as economy.
Singh said, “Rising above considerations of community and caste, people of Bani have always stood for the principles and policies of BJP and expressed confidence that this time also they would overwhelmingly vote for BJP”.
Singh appealed to people for supporting BJP so that long standing demands of the area can be addressed.
Reiterating the demand for a separate hill district comprising Bani-Basohli-Billawar, Singh said that BJP has already recognised it as a separate district but the government has not.
Jeevan Lal, the BJP candidate for Bani, also accompanied Dr Jitendra during the tour.
