National Conference (NC) General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar Saturday expressed dismay over the back-sliding of governance in Jammu and Kashmir saying that the incumbent government had turned a “blind eye” to the sufferings of the people.
A statement of NC issued here said that interacting with scores of delegations who had called on him here at NawaiSubh party headquarters from different parts of Kashmir, Sagar said that Kashmir was looking for good governance, development activities and post COVID-19 recovery plan in the sectors of health, education and social welfare, but the incumbent administration was clueless about the issues concerning the people.
It said that the visiting delegations apprised Sagar about the widespread unemployment, administrative inertia and development deficit in their respective areas.
The statement said that while interacting with the NC functionaries including senior leaders ShameemaFirdous, Irfan Ahmed Shah, SajadShafi (Uri), Showkat Ahmed Mir and Peer Afaq, who were also present in the meeting, Sagar said that the democratic system which was ushered in Jammu and Kashmir by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah had been derailed by the brush of authoritarianism on August 5, 2019.
“Unfortunately, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir has in particular been at the receiving end of it. Unilateral and undemocratic rescinding of our constitutionally-guaranteed status, disenfranchising natives from exclusive rights over land and jobs, and the smear campaign against them on media has buried their dreams. They see no light at the end of the tunnel. The dream sold to our youth in the run up to August 5 measures has not materialised yet. Lakhs of local educated youth continue to suffer on account of shrinking opportunities, the absence of a viable employment package and incentivization of tourism, handicraft sectors has further aggravated their plight,” Sagar said in the statement.