Self-proclaimed 'messiahs' let Jammu down: NC

In a veiled attack on the BJP, the National Conference on Sunday lashed out at the "self-proclaimed messiahs" whose "nonchalant and callous attitude" has humiliated the people of Jammu and complete neglect of the region. "The people of Jammu were promised a state but got reduced to being a non-entity only to play third fiddle after Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territories," NC Provincial President Devender Singh Rana said addressing workers' meeting in the border district of Rajouri.

He alleged that the Jammu region is suffering from acute developmental and administrative inertia which has taken toll on various projects and implementation of welfare schemes. "The region appears to be the last priority for the administration, which is reflected in the dilapidated road network, non-functional utility services and paralysed administrative structure," he said, adding that Jammu region had not anticipated all this even in the wildest of dreams.

"The self-proclaimed Messiahs have let down and humiliated Jammu. Their non-challant and callous attitude has led to the complete neglect of the winter capital as also its peripheries like Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua and all other hilly and rural areas in the last four years," he said. He said such a scenario is unacceptable to the people and called for restoring their honour and dignity.

Rana sought holistic development of the region with focussed attention on hilly and rural areas, as they have completely been ignored in the last four years. "The ongoing winter months particularly call for regulated power and drinking water facilities besides dependable road network for unhindered connectivity," he said.

The NC leader sought synergized efforts between various departmental agencies, especially those engaged in utility services, saying this is imperative in view of the magnitude of problems. He attributed the lack of development to the unfortunate tendency of linking governance with politics in recent years and said public interest should always supersede political priorities and contingencies.

Rana exhorted the cadre to intensify mass contact programme and reach out to the people in a big way for identifying their problems and seeking redressal. He said the cadre has to work towards bringing harmony in the society. "Our agenda is to foster amity and bridge the gap between various sections of the society," he said, adding that pluralistic ethos and inclusiveness are the greatest strengths of Jammu and Kashmir.