Apni Party seeks intervention of PM, HM to address concerns of DDC members
Srinagar: The Apni Party on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve protocol power and honorarium issues of DDC members, alleging that the bureaucracy has always attempted to uproot the democratic edifice in Jammu and Kashmir.
This comes on a day District Development Council (DDC) members called off their two-day protest to demand adequate powers and monthly honorarium, saying they have got an assurance from Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and will meet him on Friday.
In a statement, Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said protocol powers and honorarium announced for the recently elected DDC chairpersons and members exposed the mindset of the bureaucratic set-up that has never wanted democracy to flourish in Jammu and Kashmir due to its ulterior motives.
“The humiliating protocol powers and honorarium announced by the government for DDC chairpersons and council members are in absolute contradiction to what the prime minister and the home minister had envisaged for these elected representatives of the people,” he said.
The Apni Party leader sought the intervention of Modi and Shah in the matter.
He urged them to resolve it as per their vision with regard to strengthening the democratic edifice in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, the BJP had extended support to the protesting DDC members and urged LG Sinha to consider their demands with an open heart.
Peoples Conference president and former minister Sajad Gani Lone had also expressed disappointment over the lowering of the status of the DDC chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and members, and blamed the bureaucrats for it.
