Srinagar, Aug 21 (KNO): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Udhampur East, Ranbir Singh Pathania, on Friday accused the Omar Abdullah-led government of deliberately delaying Panchayat and Urban Local Body polls, calling the NC and Congress the “biggest enemies of local self-government” in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Pathania said Jammu and Kashmir needs stronger local self-government.
Slamming the Congress and National Conference over the delay in local body elections, he said the two parties should explain their position. “Today, Ladakh has announced its local body elections. What has stopped Jammu and Kashmir? What is the obstacle?” he asked.
“The biggest enemies of local self-government in Jammu and Kashmir are the National Conference and Congress. They want people to suffer for a small drain, lane, pipe or road and come to them,” Pathania alleged.
He said the delay in Panchayat and ULB polls will be a major issue for the BJP in the upcoming session.
Launching a broader attack, Pathania said, “This is a government which has no commitment, no direction, no development philosophy. We will expose it and oppose it.”
He accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of being invisible on the ground. “We accept and acknowledge that Omar Abdullah is the elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. But on the ground, he is not visible. His government is fragmented,” he said.
Pathania accused the government of failing to fulfil its electoral promises.
“The government is not living up to its commitments commitments made in its manifesto to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and commitments made on the floor of the Assembly,” he said.
On jobs, Pathania alleged, “They had promised one lakh jobs. Let us say they gave 25000, but the irony and duplicity is that they gave them through the back door to their own people and favourites. In the name of outsourcing, they have placed their workers, their people and their supporters in different departments.”
He accused the government of running a “transfer industry”. “If you look at transfers in the PWD and other departments, there is no rhyme or reason. People are transferred within two months, while those who have completed eight years are left untouched. There is no unanimity, no common policy on transfers,” he alleged.
Pathania also criticised the government for keeping MLAs out of the loop on programmes organised in their constituencies. “There have been repeated complaints. It started from Jammu and then in Jammu North and other areas, where the Deputy Chief Minister inaugurated works without involving the local MLA.
An MLA is the elected voice of the people. Involving the elected representative is respecting the mandate of the people. If you do not involve him, it means the government is disrespecting and insulting the mandate,” he said, referring to such incidents in Handwara and his own constituency—(KNO)