National Conference’s Sadhotra targets Home Minister Shah for ignoring’ demands of protesting youths

Jammu, Jan 14 (PTI) Senior National Conference leader Ajay K Sadhotra on Saturday criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “ignoring the demands” of protesting youths as well as employees who fled Kashmir in the aftermath of the targeted killings last year.

Terming the visit of Shah to Jammu on Friday as a “total failure”, he said creating hype was different than fulfilling the aspirations of the people.

“It is unfortunate that Jammu, the holy city of temples, has turned into a city of dharnas and protests by the BJP double-engine government. The Centre being the custodian of the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, in the absence of a democratically-elected government, cannot shirk its legitimate responsibilities,” Sadhotra said in a statement here.

He said the protesting youths and reserved categories’ employees working in Kashmir, Prime Minister Package employees, Rehbar-e-Khel workers and daily-rated and contractual segment of employees find themselves pushed to the wall with the home minister not speaking a word about them and ignoring their demands contemptuously.

He said denial of rights, especially withholding the salaries, is a gross human rights violation and its enormity becomes severe as the youths have been agitating for several months now.

Sadhotra said the visit of the home minister had raised many expectations and generated hope among the protestors but “true to the character of the BJP they find themselves in lurch, as the ruling dispensation believes in not keeping its promises”.

The NC leader cautioned the government against “testing the patience” of the striking workers and sought an immediate end to the ongoing dharnas by engaging them in talks and taking appropriate action on their demands.

Sadhotra also assailed the Centre and the J-K administration for failing in instilling a sense of security among the people in general and those living in the border areas in particular.

Referring to the recent twin terror attacks in Dhangri village of Rajouri that left seven people dead and 14 others injured, he said the two lives of the young children who died in an IED explosion after the initial attack could have been saved had the agencies concerned sanitised the site of carnage after the brutal killings.

“Nothing is being heard about the action taken against those responsible for the security lapse despite tall claims made by responsible people at the helm of affairs,” the NC leader said, adding this has further aggravated the despondency among the people about their safety and security.