Srinagar: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, while reiterating the party’s promise to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir if voted to power, announced five guarantees for its people who, he asserted, deserve better than they have been living through for years.
While speaking at an election rally in southern Anantnag, Mr. Kharge said that the five guarantees he was giving to the people of J&K include ₹ 500,000 interest-free loan for women entrepreneurs and ₹ 25 lakh health insurance for each household, if the Congress-National Conference alliance is voted to power in the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
“We will also give ₹ 3,000 monthly to the woman heading a family, restore the provision of giving 11 kilograms of foodgrains (rice or wheat) per person through the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department,” he said.
He committed the possible future government of the Congress-NC alliance also to “dignified” return of the displaced Kashmiri Brahmin Hindus or Pandits to the Kashmir Valley and their rehabilitation, the promise made by the Centre during the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh. “We will fulfil that promise in letter and spirt,” he said. He further promised to give the OBCs all the rights that are enshrined in the Constitution, he added.
These guarantees were read out by the Congress president in presence of NC president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and senior Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Subodh Kant.
As per local news agency KNO, Mr. Kharge said there are one lakh job vacancies in J&K administration, but the current dispensation appointed by the BJP-led Centre is not filling them as “they want to keep people of Jammu and Kashmir poor”. He said, “If voted to power which I am sure is going to happen, the Congress-NC combine will fill these vacancies up”.
He alleged that the BJP government at the Centre and is appointed Lieutenant Governor-led administration failed to bring any working industry to J&K and, therefore, there was no job creation. “We will focus on tourism and manufacturing. More than 4,400 government schools have been closed in the past several years. We will reopen them as we will focus on education,” he said.
The Congress president reiterated that his party would strive for the restoration of J&K’s statehood. He also promised to restore the bi-cameral status of the J&K legislature. He said, “We will strive to get statehood for J&K. The bi-cameral House will be restored. They (BJP) keep asking how we will do it? When people are with us, we will do it as it is people’s power.”
