Srinagar: National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Thursday said that J&K youth find themselves surrounded by darkness as the limited employment opportunities are shrinking further for them.
Addressing a public gathering at Ramban, Omar said that the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have been worst hit by the decisions of August 05, 2019.
“The government jobs which should have been given to our youth are going to outsiders. It is the youth of Jammu, Kashmir, Chenab and Pir Panjal regions who should have the first rights over the employment generated in their regions. But that is not the case,” he said.
According to a party press release, he said the situation in Chenab is far worse. “Ideally much of the employment generated in local power and road infrastructure projects initiated by NC governments in this region should have gone into the hands of local educated, skilled youth of the region. But it is not happening; on the contrary, the outsourcing of jobs and contracts have rendered our youth in this region, and elsewhere hopeless. It is this injustice that we are fighting against,” he said.
On BJP’s claims of fostering development and progress in Jammu and Kashmir post August 05, 2019, he said, “Promised dawn of development, jobs for youth and much touted investment remains a distant dream. Far from putting the region on a path of development, the ruling dispensation has liquidated the hard-earned dividends of previous NC-led governments in bridging the gulf between the people and the government. We are fighting to bridge that gulf by fighting for the restoration of their abridged constitutional rights,” he said.
Alleging that the incumbent ruling dispensation in New Delhi is looking at the Muslims of the country and Jammu and Kashmir “with profound mistrust”, he said “people of J&K, particularly the Muslims and the NC cadre, have been consistent in their faith in the Indian Constitution. We have cherished our bond with the country and given supreme sacrifices to defend it. We in NC have shouldered the bodies of our colleagues, and workers who gave their lives in protecting this bond.
“Contrarily it is New Delhi which has backtracked on its solemn and sovereign promises which it made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir when it acceded with the dominion of India. The moment we raise our voice against abrogation of those expressions, we are mocked and ridiculed as traitors,” he said.
“All we want is that New Delhi should stand by its solemn promises made to the people of J&K at the time of accession. All we are asking for is the fool-proof protection for our unique, political and cultural identity. It was told to us that our land, jobs, and personal laws will be protected. We want New Delhi to redeem those pledges. Our faith in the country was tested in 1947. We don’t need tutorials on nationalism,” the former chief minister said.
