Apni Party slams BJP for ‘aggressive, destructive’ policies on J&K

Jammu, Dec 17 (PTI) Apni Party (JKAP) president and former minister Altaf Bukhari on Saturday accused the BJP-led central government of following “aggressive and destructive” policies on Jammu and Kashmir.

Accusing the saffron party of trying to undermine the constitutional and political rights of the people, Bukhari said it was disturbing to see that new aggressive laws undermining the rights and interests of J-K are being brought into effect with each passing day.

The latest is the new land lease rules, which might terminate the old leases, he said addressing a party convention in Samba district.

He also denounced the BJP government for not restoring statehood to J-K and also not holding assembly elections.

“They say that the promise of abrogation of article 370 was in their election manifesto. But, then why did they also snatch the statehood away and divided J-K into two union territories? And, why don’t they hold elections here even after a state of normalcy is restored here? These things are creating apprehensions among the masses,” he said.

“To elect their own representatives to place them at the helm of affairs is a democratic right of the people, and they cannot be deprived of this right for so long without any plausible reason,” Bukhari said.

The JKAP president said people of both Jammu and Kashmir regions ought to stand united and maintain harmony so that they can protect their constitutional rights and mutual interests.

“We need to initiate a movement to demand our rights such as the restoration of statehood, holding of immediate assembly polls, and reversal of hostile laws which have been brought into effect for the past some time.

“Jammu and Valley is a single unit and people must understand that they have mutual interests to protect. You must stand united and assert your rights,” he said.

In his hour-long speech, Bukhari talked about the issues of the daily wagers, intensifying corruption, rising unemployment, irregularities in the selection of job aspirants, illegal mining and handing over projects to outside contractors.

He promised that his party, if it gets a mandate, will ensure justice in all these matters.

“Political dynasties and even BJP leaders of Jammu and Kashmir will not dare to talk about all these matters. But the Apni Party will never shy away from saying the truth to the power, that be, in New Delhi,” he said.