JAMMU JUNE 03- National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana on Sunday expressed grave concern over escalated shelling from across the people, saying people along Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir have virtually become fodder of the Pakistan cannons.
“The BJP led government at the Centre cannot shrug off its responsibility for the volatile situation on borders, as it has completely failed in instilling a sense of security among the border dwellers due to policy paralysis”, Rana said while talking to reporters at the sidelines of a social function here this evening.
He said that instead of insulating the residents of forward areas from recurring border skirmishes, the BJP led government is sending confusing signals to compatriots. For the past four years, the Centre has neither been able to settle the issues with Pakistan through dialogue to hold the ceasefire agreement reached during the tenure of Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003 nor is there any roadmap to counter the incessant shelling. “In the process the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those on borders, are living in perpetual fear”, he added.
Rana posed a straight question to the BJP, asking as to where the bravado of 2014 has vanished. Due to jingoistic posturing, the situation has been allowed to drift without any concrete response to the hostilities, as a result of which the people of the forward areas are made to run helter skelter for their lives intermittently. He said the big promises made for raising safe shelters, allotting five marla plots or constructing bunkers have fallen flat like all other commitments made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. In the absence of secured atmosphere, several precious lives have perished in the Pak shelling, he added.
“The scenario across LoC and IB is quite volatile. Today, the tremors of shelling and gun roars were even heard in the Jammu city and its peripheries, which reflects the enormity of the border situation”, Rana said and lauded the resilience of the people in braving the brunt with fortitude.
The Provincial President also took head on the PDP-BJP government for its insensitivity towards the border people, saying it has abdicated its responsibilities in ensuring their safety. “The government which fails in instilling confidence among the people has no right to govern”, he said, adding that propriety demands the coalition partners to put in papers, as it has failed to deliver. He said the victims of cross-LOC and cross-border shelling have not been compensated and what’s even worse – the administration has not even made an attempt to assess losses and damages suffered by the residents. The entire population been robbed of their livelihood, children deprived of their studies, farmers restrained from farming and private property has suffered the brunt, he added.
