Jammu March 13: National Conference (NC) President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah reiterated his call of unity against the divisive and communal agenda being spread across the country including J&K by forces inimical to communal harmony. 

He made these comments while addressing a party convention in Samba late Saturday evening.

Abdullah said that the people of Jammu, witnessing slow death to their exclusive job, and land rights have made it a point to punish such forces who have brought the entire region to this appalling condition.

“People will inflict a collective punishment on communal and divisive forces, which are working day in and day out to liquidate the exclusive rights of diverse sections of Jammu. While the economy fast dissipated and development came to a grinding halt, the ever growing unemployment, inflation, development deficit, administrative inertia, wanton demolition drives seems to be the only notable feature of the current bureaucratic rule,” he said adding, “The deteriorating security situation, everyday killings of grassroot level political activists, grenade blasts lay bare the ground realities and puncture the government’s peace claims. The uncertainty, unaccountability, unemployment and development deficit, which has gripped Jammu for the past three eight years appears far from over.

Among others Provincial President Jammu Rattan Lal Gupta, Senior leader Ajay Sadhotra, YNC Provincial President, Jammu Aijaz Jan, Israr Khan, Hameed Choudhary, Chander Udhay Singh, Dev Raj Kapoor, Ashwani Abrol and other local unit functionaries were also present on the occasion.

“Jammu’s local economy is being strangulated as outsiders are being facilitated to take over businesses here. The proposal of Retail stores in Jammu has triggered anxieties among local Jammu traders. My Dogra brothers well understand that the assault on their trade is not a case in isolation. Everyone here in Jammu knows that such  a measure is part of the systematic pattern to elbow out locals, the Dogras from the businesses and pave the way for the outsiders, who have already taken away a sizeable share in mining and other contract allotments, directly or indirectly, in the region after August 2019,” he added.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Sunday felicitated the newly appointed Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dr. Gagan Baghat,  Additional Spokespersons Zeeshan Rana and Thakur Yashwardhan Singh at his Jammu. Party’s General Secretary Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal and Provincial President Jammu Rattan Lal Gupta were also present on the occasion.(