Srinagar: Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, on Saturday questioned the government’s repeated reference to “lack of powers” while responding to basic public grievances, saying issues such as water, electricity, roads, school and hospital staffing and employment needed answers from the elected government.
Speaking at a public interaction programme here, Sharma, as reported by the news agency KNO, said people continued to approach the government with everyday problems but were being told that Jammu and Kashmir lacked the necessary powers to address them.
“For every issue, whether small or big, the only answer that comes from the government and government machinery is that we have no powers,” he said.
The senior BJP leader said the elected government had completed two years and claimed that people were still facing frustration and uncertainty over several unresolved issues.
He questioned the use of statehood as an excuse to routine administrative matters, saying basic works should not be linked to the restoration of statehood.
“Where pipes had to be connected, where poles and wires were required, where schools needed staff, where hospitals needed doctors and paramedics, where potholes on roads had to be filled — for every issue the same answer was received: ‘statehood is not there’,” he said.
“If at the end of two years we say that we need statehood even to install poles, wires and pipes and we need statehood even to provide staff, then why are we in government? Why are we in the assembly?” he asked.
Sharma said the BJP’s legislature party would take up issues raised by people during the upcoming Assembly session and pursue matters that require intervention from the Centre.
He said unemployment, particularly among young people, would remain a major concern for the Opposition.
The BJP leader also criticised the government’s recruitment and outsourcing policy, claiming that 25,000 jobs had been occupied through outsourcing. “You have occupied 25,000 jobs. I say this with a guarantee that these 25,000 will not be advertised again,” he said.
He also questioned the limited number of Assembly sittings, saying the region faced multiple issues that required detailed discussion on the floor of the House.
“Jammu and Kashmir’s issues are different. There are so many issues here on a single platform. So, a response like this makes a person ask: where should we go, whom should we speak to?” he said.
Sharma said the BJP’s public outreach programme was aimed at listening to people’s grievances and taking them to the appropriate forums. (With inputs from KNO)
