Jammu, Feb 23: Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari Thursday said that J&K’s sensitive matters and important public issues should be left for an elected Govt to deal with through democratic means.

He said, “I wonder why the Administration is hell-bent to settle everything at once. Important public issues and sensitive matters should be left for the government that will come up with a public mandate in the forthcoming elections here,” a press note said.

He was speaking to reporters in Jammu after a party event, which was organized to greet a prominent political activist and NC’s former Provincial Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Shafi into the party fold.

Sheik joined the Apni Party along with his workers and supporters. The rest of the joinees included Rehemtulla Zargar, Liyakat Tantray, Kuldeep Kumar, Preeto Devi, Mujahid Hussain, Fatha Ali Shah, Sham Raj, Deepak Kumar, and others.

Besides Prominent party leaders and senior workers, the party’s state General Secretary Vijay Bakaya, and Provincial President Manjeet Singh were also present on the occasion.

According to a press note issued here,  Altaf Bukhari while greeting Sheikh Mohammad Shafi and others into the party fold said, “I sincerely welcome you into the Apni Party, and I am sure your joining will strengthen the party in the region. I assure you that you will get full support from the party leadership when you will be out there to work for the people in your respective areas.”

After the event, while talking to the media, Altaf Bukhari expressed his gratitude to the union Home minister and Lieutenant Governor (LG) for ensuring the demolition drive in the name of land retrieval in J&K is stopped. He said, “I want to extend my thanks to the Home Minister and LG sahib for ensuring the demolition drive is put to an end. Finally, after seeing people resisting the demolition drive tooth and nail, they realized that people are genuinely annoyed.” He added, “Dair Aayad Durust Ayad (Better late than never).”

However, Altaf Bukhari expressed his worry about the latest Govt order suggesting that property tax will be levied in J&K. “It is sad to see difficult orders are successively being passed. Such directives should come up only after proper deliberations and discussion, and while keeping the public sentiments in view. I would suggest that such decisions should be kept for an elected govt to take.” He said.

Apni Party President appealed to the people of Jammu and the Valley to stay united in order to safeguard their democratic rights. “I request the people of both regions to stay well-bonded with each other. You need to be united to protect your rights. I am sure, this time, you will elect a strong Govt in the upcoming polls so that it will be able to protect your interests and rights.” He said, adding, “Apni party is trying to play a role of a bridge to keep the people of two regions connected. And, I promise you, when the Apni Party is mandated to serve the people, we will ensure justice and protection of the rights of the people, and we will not hesitate to revoke the anti-people laws and fix the things that people believe have gone wrong over the past few years.”

He further said, “When I say that we will not allow even an inch of land to the outsiders, I do not try to provoke or emotionalize the people. I say this in terms of the law of the land; we will protect the rights of the people through legal and democratic means.”

He added, “Apni Party was launched, post August 5, 2019, with the aim to protect the people’s rights. It is a matter of record that when, after the August 2019 occurrences, there was absolute chaos in J&K and people were apprehensive about their rights and future, Apni Party took initiative to meet the leaders and New Delhi. And, we ensured the J&K people get exclusive rights to jobs and agricultural land, which consists of 95 percent of the total land here. We made these efforts despite the miscreants promoting extreme propaganda and spreading misinformation against the Apni Party. We did not pay any heed to this propaganda only because we just want to stand by our people at the crucial time.”

Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Vijay Bakaya and Manjeet Singh, the prominent party leaders and senior workers who were present on the occasion included Faqir Nath, Arun Kumar Chibber, Dr. Rohit, Bodh Raj Bhagat, Ajaz Kazmi, Rafeeq Ahmad Khan, Abhy Bakaya, Vipul Bali, Raj Sharma, Pavneet Kour, Tariq Leo, Sheikh Abdul Latief, and others. Ritu Pandita, Sandeep Vaid, Surjeet, and others.