Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana on Tuesday said that Jammu and Kashmir was passing through a most crucial stage of its history with disruptionists and obstructionists (PDP-BJP) taking central stage and trying to break religious and regional bonding in the State.
“We won’t allow the divisive agenda to submerge peoples’ yearning for peace, togetherness, cohesiveness and single entity of the State”, Rana said while paying tribute to Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah at a function held at S K Bhavan here in observance of his death anniversary.
Former ministers Surjeet Singh Slathia, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Abdul Gani Malik and Babu Rampal were among the prominent speakers who paid homage to Baba-e-Quom while throwing light on different facets of his life.
Rana cautioned the people against machinations of divisive elements (PDP and BJP) who were hell bent upon to create wedge between various segments of the society by exploiting religious and regional sentiments. They are creating fear psychosis about religion and regional identities being under danger, he said, adding that there was no threat to any religion in a State that maintained amity during most testing times under the towering stewardship of Sher-e-Kashmir. “Yes, there is threat to those who were trading religion for their political sustenance” he said, adding that upholding the cherished slogan of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Buddhist Unity was the biggest and most befitting tribute to Sheikh Sahib.
Accusing PDP and BJP of designing their politics in a mistaken belief of satiating their respective constituencies, Rana referred to the latest measure of imposing service tax on helicopter service to Mata Vaishno Devi and said the duo will now resort to, as part of their fixed match, high voltage politics on this contentious issue. He said the two parties were cleverly raising such issues to create spaces for each other in the two regions. He anticipated BJP opening a front against PDP to waive off the tax and PDP showing no signs of immediate relenting in order to divert the attention of people from the problems confronted to them due to mis-governance. He said the coalition partners were serving as compliment and supplement to each other by whipping up regional and religious passions under a well thought over plan conceived at Nagpur. “RSS has got a credible Pracharak in the PDP”, he said while exhorting the people to be vigilant against their upcoming moves. He also advised the coalition partners not to commit the suicidal mistake of underestimating peoples’ sagacity, who are capable enough to read between the lines.
Rana said that Jammu and Kashmir will always remain indebted to Sheikh Sahib for laying the deep foundations of democracy in the State.
Paying tributes to Sher-e-Kashmir, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra exhorted the workers to close their ranks and work for strengthening the bonds of amity and unity between various segments of the society.
Sadhotra came down heavily on the failures of the coalition government, as also wrong policies being pursued by the Centre, which has created drift like situation and pushed development to back burner.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelHe referred to the plight of border dwellers and said they were constantly living under threat perception, as a result of which the life has come to standstill in the entire border belt.
In his address, Surjeet Singh Slathia recalled the revolutionary land reforms undertaken by Sher-e-Kashmir to improve the lot of peasants and said this transformed the entire rural landscape decades ago.
“It is irony that mis-governance and anti-farmer policies of the coalition government have created a situation where the hapless peasants are forced to live in penury”, Slathia asking whether the present dispensation wanted Maharashtra and MP like situation to arise where the farmers are led to take extreme steps.
Former minister, Abdul Gani Malik and Chairman SC/OBC Cell Babu Rampal threw light on various facets of the life of Sher-e-Kashmir. While Malik recalled the relentless efforts of the towering leader in forging bonds of amity between various segments of the society, Rampal lauded the initiatives taken for upliftment of down-trodden and weaker sections of the society.
National Conference State Secretary Th Rachpal Singh, Vice Presidents Rattan Lal Gupta and Th Kashmira Singh, veteran leader Sheikh Abdul Rehman, Provincial President NC Women Wing Satwant Dogra, former MLC Bimla Luthra besides Provincial Secretary Sheikh Bashir and other leaders also paid tributes to Baba-e-Quom.
Th Kashmira Singh recited poems, eulogizing the contribution of Sheikh Sahib in forging communal amity and tranquility in the State.
The function began with floral tributes to Sher-e-Kashmir. Earlier, the National Conference leaders visited Vridh Ashram at Amphalla and distributed fruit among the inmates.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Master Noor Hussain MLC, Jugal Mahajan, S. Gurdeep Singh Sasan, Brij Mohan Sharma Ex- MLC, Bushan Lal Bhat Ex – MLC , Haji Mohd Hussain Ex MLC, Dapinder Kour Ex MLC, Dharamveer Singh Jamwal Districr President Jammu Urban, Satpal Lakhotra Ex-MLA, Chander Mohan Sharma, Vijay Laxami Dutta , Pardeep Bali, G.H Malik, Mohinder Gupta, Vijay Lochan, Abdul Gani Teli, Ch. Haroon, Rakesh Singh Raka, Rashida Begum, Anil Dhar, Iqbal Wani, Kr. Yashwardan Singh, ML Munshi, Ashok Singh Manhas, Daljeet Sharma, Nar Singh, Rahul Mahajan, Pinki Bhat, Rohit Bali, Iqbal Wani, Som Raj Taroch, Veena Oberia, Sushil, Manveer Kour, Anju Grover, Dr. Tara Chand , Triath Ram, Dilshad Begum , Kuldeep Kour, Sarooj Gupta, Wahid Kasana, Farooq Mughal , S. Nirmal Singh, Sain Dass, K. D Singh , Mamta Sharma, Bhagwan Singh , Sanjay Gupta and others.
Reports of the observance of death anniversary of Sher-e-Kashmir have been received from all the district headquarters of the region. Former Deputy Speaker Maulvi Abdul Rashid paid tributes to Baba-eQuom at a function held at Manigam in Ramban District. (KNS)