SOS Int’l calls for political accountability, seeks actionable plans from candidates to resolve PoJK refugees’ issues

STATE TIMES NEWS

Rajouri: The SOS International-a registered frontline organisation spearheading the struggle for delivering justice to the PoJK displaced persons-on Sunday asked the political parties to reveal their clear and actionable plans to resolve all core issues of the displaced PoJK community if they seek their votes in the current Assembly elections.
The Organisation made it clear that the 6.5 lakh votes from the community will be a deciding factor in 27-28 assembly seats across J&K and warned that opportunist politicians will no longer be able to deceive the community.
A crucial meeting of the Organisation, under the chairmanship of Rajiv Chuni, was held in Dhanwa village of Rajouri district, to strategize for the upcoming Assembly elections. Senior representatives from the Rajouri block attended the meeting to discuss the community’s strategy and its decisive role in the election outcomes. Addressing the largely attended meeting, Chuni emphasized the organization’s unwavering commitment to the work for community’s issues, regardless of the election cycles. “Our organization has been working diligently throughout the year for the welfare of the PoJK community. Elections come and go, and politicians may rise or fall, but our commitment to resolving our issues remains steadfast”, he said.
Chuni further said, “This election period presents an opportunity for our community to raise their concerns assertively before the political class, compelling them to address our long-standing issues. With only ten days remaining until the second phase of polling on September 25, it is essential to highlight the significant impact the PoJK community can have on the electoral outcomes in Rajouri and Poonch districts”.
He specifically mentioned three assembly constituencies including Kalakote-Sunderbani, Nowshera, and Rajouri where the PoJK community’s strong presence is expected to play a decisive role.
Chuni also pointed out the persistent failure of political groups to address the pressing issues faced by the PoJK community, who have lived in displacement for over 70 years and continue to endure below-poverty-line conditions. “Our people, who have sacrificed and suffered so much and left behind their movable and immovable properties in PoJK, are now drivers, laborers, cleaners, and domestic helpers. Despite their contributions, they have been largely ignored by those in power,” he regretted. Chuni said the meeting underscored the need for all political parties to present their agendas and concrete plans to alleviate the sufferings of the PoJK community.
“We urge all political candidates to engage with our community and outline their strategies to address our core issues. As voters, we seek transparency and accountability from those who seek our support. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past 75 years,” Chuni asserted.
The senior refugee leader said, “The outcome of three out of the eight assembly seats in Rajouri-Poonch districts, going to polls in the second phase, will heavily depend on the votes of the PoJK community. If political parties seek our support, they must publicly apologize for their past failures and make sincere promises to address our outstanding issues post-election”. Chuni added that the political parties should remember that the votes of the community will be a decisive factor in these elections.
“Our impact is expected to be significant across 27-28 assembly seats, including a strong influence in the third phase of polling. We will leverage social media effectively to communicate with our community members with regard to our decisions on supporting or opposing any candidate.
We will take all our decisions in the larger interests of the state, country, and particularly the PoJK community,” he said. Prominent among others who addressed the meeting were Susheel Sharma, Phuskar Nath Raina, Capt Ravinder Raina, Kewal Ram Sharma, Romesh Sharma, Master Mangat Ram, Ex Sarpanch Khem Raj, Dheeraj Sharma, Ved Raj Bali and Tarvinder Kumar. Vinod Kumar Dutta conducted the proceedings of the meeting.