Srinagar: Apni Party delegation led by its President Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari Sunday formally met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and submitted a memorandum, demanding restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest.
Later talking to media persons, Bukhari said that the LG assured the delegation that he would forward their demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah this week.
“The response of the LG was very positive and he said a promise had been made in the Parliament regarding the restoration of statehood and that he was aware of our party’s demand and efforts about it. LG Sahab assured us that he will forward the demand to Prime Minister Sahab and Home Minister Sahab and take up the matter with them,” he said.
Bukhari told media persons that if the people support his party, he would be able to get the statehood restored shortly.
He said that the delegation also took up several matters about the youth with the LG.
“We raised the issue of cancellation of various selection lists recently. LG Sahab said this was done due to the irregularities found in the lists. He assured us that fresh and transparent recruitment for these posts will start soon. About the preventive detention of the youth, he said the government will review these on a case to case basis,” Bukhari said.
He said that they raised the issue of verification for government jobs with the LG and told him that the family members and relatives of those who in past were involved were not being cleared.
“We told the LG Sahab that if somebody has done something decades ago, why his family members and relatives are being made to suffer for that now? LG Sahab told us to bring such cases into his notice,” Bukhari said.
He said that they also raised the recent ban by Waqf Board on accepting donations in shrines while such a ban was nowhere in India.
“He assured us to look into the matter,” Bukhari said.
He refused to comment on the reports that leaders of his party from Jammu were joining senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
“Let us not talk about it right now. Our party leaders like Aijaz Khan Sahab from Jammu are here. They have not gone. When somebody makes a new party, he makes such claims,” Bukhari said.
He said that they also raised the issue of delaying recruitments in J&K and expressed displeasure over the recent trend of cancelling recruitments following the reports of irregularities in the selection process.
Bukhari said that they told the LG that innocent students who had qualified for their exams by dint of hard work should not be made to suffer just because some official has indulged in wrongdoings.
He said that the LG assured them that he would ask his administration to ensure recruitments were not delayed further and that the administration would make sure that all recruitment exams were held transparently.
Besides Bukhari, the Apni Party delegation included senior party leaders Ghulam Hassan Mir, Muhammad Dilawar Mir, Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Hilal Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Ashraf Mir, Abdul Majeed Padder, Javaid Hussain Baig, Junaid Azim Mattu, Muntazir Mohiuddin, Dilshada Shaheen, Abdul Rahim Rather, Noor Muhammad Sheikh, Ghulam Muhammad Mir, Javaid Mir, and Shafqat Kazmi.