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| Against Jammu's mandate - I | | Resentment brewing against BJP | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 10: The state BJP contested the 2014 Assembly elections on the planks some of which were highlighted in its Vision Document and some not mentioned in it. The much-talked Vision Document was released to the press in the middle of November 2014. The truth is that during the intense election campaigning, the BJP candidates, who were ably backed by central leaders, sought the Jammu's mandate on certain specific issues, which were actually catalogued in the Vision Document. These were: (1) "Give 30% per cent representation to women in Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council"; (2) "Issue Dogra Certificate to the eligible youth"; (3) Ensure that the ST communities, including Gujjar, Bakerwals, Sippis and Gaddis are brought at par with their counterparts in the rest of the country"; (4) "Grant citizenship rights, including the right to vote in Assembly and local-bodies' elections, right to immovable property, right to higher and technical education, right to state government jobs, to the refugees from West Pakistan"; (5) "Reserve five seats for PoJK refugees out of 24 left vacant in the Assembly for PoJK and three for displaced Kashmiris out of 46 seats earmarked for Kashmir Valley"; and (6) "initiate the process of just and honourable re-settlement of Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir valley with security and dignity". Another specific BJP election plank said: "To make Jammu & Kashmir a peaceful, progressive and developed state of the Union of India through holistic and inclusinve development of all the three regions, namely Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh".
The people of Jammu province believed the BJP leadership and gave it a massive mandate. They elected 25 BJP MLAs and decimated the NC (3), the Congress 5 and the PDP (3). It won almost 70 per cent of the total seats from Jammu. It was obvious that the people of Jammu region, including those sections of society about which the BJP had talked about in its Vision Document, reposed faith in the party hoping it would respect its commitments. However, today they are cursing them for pinning faith on the BJP and accusing it of "cheating them, subverting the mandate and crossing all limits to appease Kashmir".
The anger among them is brewing and brewing at an alarming speed. They cannot be blamed for the radical change in the attitude or for their hostile attitude towards the BJP. It would be only proper to say that the BJP Agenda of Alliance has completely negated BJP Vision Document.
The Agenda of Alliance didn't talk about 33 per cent representation to women in the state legislature. Even before signing the Agenda of Alliance, the BJP had shown its true face. It had left none in any doubt that it would be for Kashmir and Kashmir alone and de-empower further the people of Jammu region. The BJP didn't field a single women candidate in Jammu and Ladakh in the Assembly elections. It fielded two Kashmiri women, who joined the BJP on the eve of elections, and both lost their security deposit. After coming into power, it got 8 berths in the Legislative Council, but the BJP didn't find any suitable female candidate either for election to the Council of for nomination to the Council. It did nominate one female to the assembly, but it had no other option because the seat to be filled through nomination specifically meant for a female. It was under compulsion that the BJP nominated a female to the Assembly.
The Vision Document had talked about holistic approach towards all the three regions, but what Jammu got after the government formation was just crumbs. The BJP surrendered all the portfolios barring the in-shambles PDD, Health, PHE, Forest and Transport, to Kashmir. In other words, the BJP handed over on a platter to Kashmir all the crucial and important departments and these include Home, Finance, Planning, Development, Education, Roads & Buildings, Agriculture and Horticulture, Tourism and Employment, General Administration Department, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Science and Technology, to mention only a few. And after coming into power, the BJP also surrendered the proposed AIIMS for Jammu to Kashmir. The BJP declared that no one can "snatch" it from Kashmir and establish it in Jammu. It was none other than the Deputy Chief Minister who made this ridiculous statement to prove his loyalty to Kashmir and tell the people of Jammu region that they committed a mistake by voting for a party that was committed to leave behind the Congress in its bid to pamper Kashmir. Clearly, the BJP handed over all to Kashmir under the strict directions of the party high command. Some credible sources in the party reveal that the BJP national general secretary "Ram Madhav, during a meeting with some top BJP leaders, had advised them not to talk about Jammu and convince the people of Jammu region that the BJP struck a historic deal to come into power in the Muslim-majority state". (To be continued) |
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