Srinagar: Asserting that his party considers August 05, 2019 as a ‘black day’ in J&K’s history, Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Monday pledged to continue with struggle against the political disempowerment of people of Jammu and Kashmir that came to a full circle last year by turning a state into a union territory.
Campaigning for the party at Khannabal in Anantnag, Bukhari said that Apni Party will ensure that J&K gets its statehood back and till then the party will work for protection of land and jobs for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Apni Party considers August 05, 2019 as a black day in J&K’s history. Not only Article 370 and 35-A were scrapped but our state was bifurcated into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh. Apni Party is committed to fight for restoration of special status in the Supreme Court but till that goal is achieved, we can’t sit with our fingers crossed,” Bukhari said.
He said that the Apni Party hopes that the verdict of the Supreme Court comes as a sigh of relief for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Last year’s political decisions have not been taken easily by the people of J&K. We can’t wait for that verdict of the Supreme Court on the August 05, 2019 decisions. We will have to strive for protection of our domicile rights on land and jobs in order to have legal safeguards in our hands,” Bukhari remarked.
He said that the Apni Party has adopted a two pronged strategy—one to follow the lawsuit for restoration of special status to J&K in the apex court, and second, to strive for comprehensive domicile laws for protection of land and jobs for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“You must be aware about how we got domicile law for jobs replaced within 24 hours. Earlier only Class-IV jobs were reserved for youth of J&K but we ensured that all the categories of jobs are fully reserved for the domiciles of J&K,” he added.
Bukhari said the Apni Party has “explicitly explained” that the domicile law on land in J&K is unacceptable to it and needs to be replaced with a new law as per the aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Although there are ample safeguards for sale of agricultural land which can’t be transferred to non-domiciles of J&K, but we want a foolproof law for protection of lands for domiciles of J&K,” he added.
Bukhari said that the Apni Party will ensure that no commitments are made with the people which can’t be fulfilled by it. “Our party does not believe in hollow slogans and we pledge to deliver on our promises made with the people,” he added.
