| APSCC swings solidly behind PDP, BJP alliance | | Minority status | | Rustam
Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 26: The report that the PDP and the BJP would form coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir has inspired the minority community of Sikhs in the state. It has expressed the hope that new government would address the issues facing the minorities in the state, including the Sikh community. In fact, the All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) on Wednesday expressed hope that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government in the State would work for welfare of minority communities and redress their long pending grievances. A statement to this effect was made by none other than the chairman of the APSCC, Jagmohan Singh Raina. "One can expect that better things are in store for the minorities in Jammu & Kashmir. Minority community members have been suffering since long and corrective measures need to be taken at the earliest…Sikhs have already been classified as a minority in the country, but the previous state government did not extend this provision to the community in the state," his statement, inter-alia, said. Raina not only expressed the hope that the new government would appreciate the problems being faced by the minority communities in the state, but also tore into the NC-Congress coalition government and accused it of adopting a negative attitude towards the minority communities in general and the Sikh community in particular. "The previous coalition government of National Conference and Congress did nothing for the well being of the minority communities," he said, and added the new government in the State would work for welfare of minority communities and redress their long pending grievances.
Significantly, Raina also commended the move of the PDP and the BJP to join hands and form coalition government. "It is a great thing that two parties forming the government have been given decisive mandate by the people of two regions in the recently held assembly election. As such one can understand that both Kashmir and Jammu regions would develop over the next six years. It is the responsibility of leaders of both PDP and BJP to ensure that there is no alienation amongst the people of the State," he, in fact, said. Many others, like Raina, have expressed identical views and hoped that the new government would address the real issues facing various segments of society. It is hoped that the new government will rise up to the expectations of the people of state who suffered immensely during the NC-Congress misrule. |
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