JAMMU: Apni Party President, Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari on Thursday demanded the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is one of our core agendas to restore the Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and for this mission, we would continue our struggle,” said Altaf Bukhari, addressing a joining program.
The program was organized by State President ST Wing, Saleem Alam. In this program, Naib Sarpanch Ashwani Kumar of Seora in Bishnah, District Jammu along with dozens of his supporters joined the Party.
Welcoming the new entrants into the Party fold, Altaf Bukhari hoped that their joining would strengthen the Party and appreciated the Party leadership in Jammu for their tireless efforts for its work.
In his address, Altaf Bukhari said that the people in J&K want the restoration of Statehood and the Apni Party is committed to continuing its struggle for the restoration of the lost glory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“It’s our core agenda to get the Statehood restored. When no one was ready to raise the voice of the people, it was the Apni Party which came to the forefront and highlighted the concerns of the people of Jammu as well as Kashmir in Delhi. It was due to our efforts that we were able to get protection of land and jobs for the local population,” he said, questioning the silence of the traditional political parties.
He further stated that these political parties create regional division, and advocate self-rule and autonomy to gain votes whereas the BJP banks on religious politics to create wedges among the people of different segments.
“However, we believe in the unity of all the sections of society and equitable development. We do not play with the emotions of the people for the vote bank. Instead, we tell the truth to the people. Therefore, the people have rejected the divisive politics and double speech of the politicians from traditional political parties and hence, they join Apni Party in large numbers from across J&K,” he stated.
He also held BJP responsible for the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory.
“J&K was a historic state that needs to be restored without further delay,” he stated.
He said that the Apni Party believes in the politics of development and equal rights for all the people in J&K.
“The number of unemployed youths has increased and the Govt is clueless about the employment opportunities. The issues have multiplied in J&K because there is no elected Govt and the bureaucracy is not answerable to the people,” he said.
He said that the assembly elections are a must to hold the officials accountable and address the growing concerns of the people in both the region and unemployed youth.
He said that “an elected Govt is answerable to the people, and they do work as per the aspiration of the people whereas the officials have no such accountability that has anguished the people.”
