Apni Party president Syed Altaf Bukhari on Monday said the party continues to pursue restoration of statehood and holding of early assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, while urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to “fulfil the commitment” on restoration of statehood.
However, Bukhari asserted that his party could only “ask the government to restore statehood” adding that if needs arises, the party will launch an agitation. “We can only ask the government to do it and if they don’t do it we can come out on streets also,” Bukhari said while addressing the media during an event to mark the foundation day of the Apni Party at its Shiekh Bagh here.
“On the first foundation day of our party, while we pledge to continue our struggle to fulfil all our commitments made in the interests of people, we appeal PM and Union Home Minister to fulfil their commitment on restoration of statehood and holding assembly elections in J&K without any further delay,” Bukhari said. He said he was not a “dream merchant” who would promise that DDC or Assembly polls could help restore Article 370. However, he added that the Apni Party was among the litigants in the Supreme Court where it was pursuing “for an early hearing for restoration of the special status of J&K”.
Commenting on the Delimitation Commission which is doing an exercise of redrawing of assembly segments in J&K, Bukhari said it was “quite sad the way Delimitation Commission has been working.”
“The Commission has met just once in the last one year and the pandemic has been said to be an excuse for it. It (delimitation) is just a mathematical number which needs to be worked out,” Bukhari said.
Bukhari said the Members of Parliament from the National Conference boycotting the Delimitation Commission “was a facilitation of the designs which Delhi might have.” “This party (NC) should have taken the responsibility of taking the views and taking care of the interests of the people of J&K. The MPs have not boycotted taking their salaries or other privileges. I leave it to them and the history to judge them why they are doing this. Are they playing a hide and seek or is it part of a written understanding,” Bukhari said.
Bukhari said that if the Apni Party is voted to power, it will take historic steps especially making 25 years mandatory for becoming the domicile of Jammu and Kashmir. “Unfortunately the latest job policy had only class IV jobs for us which was injustice to our children. It was an achievement on part of the Apni Party that we ensured that amendments were made in the policy and the provision for having all sorts of jobs for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir was brought in,” Bukhari said.
Talking about the new land laws, Bukhari said the scrapping of the special status of J&K paved the way “for each and everyone” to purchase land in the erstwhile state irrespective of whether the person was a domicile or not. He said the Apni Party made efforts that “95 percent of people were protected” by providing them powers to purchase land. “Our efforts have yielded results as now only domiciles can purchase the agricultural land. It is now only 6 per cent of land in towns and cities on which there is still ambiguity but we are sure that purchase rights for even this land will be kept exclusively for residents of J&K,” Bukhari said.
Bukhari took a dig at J&K administration saying it was unable to solve a “simple issue such as fixation of mutton prices” which he said must be done immediately. “People of J&K are being governed by a bureaucratic set-up that hardly has a sense of belonging with this land or have any other motivational factor to identify with the pressing problems and sufferings of the people. A common man continues to suffer and there is no redressal of people’s grievances,” Bukhari said. Bukhari enlisted the activities of his party which he said had been undertaken for “welfare of common people”. He said the Apni Party “played a significant role in restoration of 4G Internet services”. Bukhari said apart from ensuring that a package for industries and other important economic sectors was announced, the Apni Party has also ensured that rights of locals on geology and mining resources remains intact. He said his party had promised and lived upto expectations by ensuring welfare tribal communities vis-a-vis the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. Bukhari said the party played an important role in removal of SRO 202 and SRO 103 which both brought a sigh of relief among youth and government employees. “We took up the issue that the age relaxation of civil services examination aspirants takes place and there is revival of departmental activities,”Bukhari said. He said the Apni Party played an important role to press for the demand that there is establishment of a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench in both Jammu and the Valley as well. He said the party has been against “arbitrary transfer of J&K Bank’s share holding to Ladakh” while asserting that it was Apni Party which raised the voice for demand of salary of 2800 JK Bank Employees. Bukhari said he was “puzzled that on whose directions and by what logic was the distribution of assets of the erstwhile state done.”
Earlier, Bukhari also launched the party’s website and appealed to the people especially the youth of Jammu and Kashmir to visit the site which he said is also compatible on mobile as well.