Wuzar Shahbad (Doru), June 5: President of Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday claimed that her party had swept the recently held Panchayat elections in the state.

 “PDP has swept Panchayat elections in entire Kashmir Valley and has made inroads into the new areas in Jammu. People all over the country have been opting for new regional parties be it in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu or Bihar.

PDP has emerged as premier political force in the state and it has become evident from the outcome of the Panchayat elections”, Mehbooba said while addressing a function to felicitate newly elected Sarpanchs and Panchs here in south Kashmir.

 Terming the recent visit of the New Delhi appointed interlocutors and the Kashmir Committee as the positive sign she said that New Delhi seems to resolve the Kashmir issue. “It is imperative to create a congenial atmosphere in the state and take all the stake holders on aboard for the final resolution of the Kashmir issue. Visits of the interlocutors and the Kashmir Committee are steps in a right direction and will for sure pave the way for the dialogue process and subsequently resolving the issue,” Mehbooba said.

 Castigating the National Conference led government for “misgovernance” in the state, Mehooba said, “The NC led government has failed on all fronts.

People are totally disillusioned by the policies of the government. There is no rule of law prevalent in the state as human-rights violations are going on unabated and people are craving for even basic amenities like roads, proper water supply and electricity.”

 Mehbooba also expressed concern into the “rampant corruption” and accused the state government of “looting” the state exchequer.

 “ Though the Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh is an honest person himself but there are lot of black sheep around him who have brought shame to the nation. Similarly, the state government has also taken lead in the corruption and the money meant for the development of the state is used by the ministers to fill their own coffins,” said Mehbooba.

 Blaming the NC for disrupting peace in the state and for last year’s summer unrest, Mehbooba said, “Repressive policies and misgovernance of the government led to the last year’s summer unrest and the loss of 118 innocent lives. “

 She also accused the Chief Minister for shedding crocodile tears when the innocent civilians were being killed. “The same Chief Minister who had said that the killings had shattered his heart was now terming them as drug addicts and timber smugglers and has failed to bring the culprits to justice,” she said.
 She said that even the PDP workers were blamed for formenting trouble in the valley and were labeled as stone pelters but now the same workers have been elected as Panchs and Sarpanchs and if they raise their voice against the failure of the government they don’t have any justification to suppress them.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 5 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 5 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Jun 2011 00:00:00 IST