JAMMU, Jul 16: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raman Suri on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the National Conference (NC), accusing it of deliberately diverting public attention from its complete failure in governance by unnecessarily politicising the issue of Jammu Kashmir’s statehood.
He said the issue of statehood is already settled as the union government has repeatedly assured the people that statehood will be restored at an appropriate time and there’s no ambiguity on this matter.
Reacting to the NC’s proposed protest in Delhi over the restoration of statehood, Raman Suri said the party is trying to create an issue where none exists, solely to escape accountability for its own failures.
He alleged that after failing to fulfil the promises made to the people, the NC leadership is now attempting to mislead the public by projecting itself as the champion of statehood. “Statehood does not fall within the domain of the NC government as it’s a constitutional process and the Centre has already given its commitment.
Raman Suri added that instead of focusing on governance and delivering on its manifesto, the NC has chosen political theatrics to hide its inefficiency. He said the people of Jammu Kashmir had voted the NC to power with hopes of better governance, employment opportunities, improved civic amenities, transparent administration and timely democratic processes.
“The government has failed on every front from unemployment and poor civic services to delayed Panchayat elections. Instead of answering these public concerns, the NC is rushing to Delhi to stage protests and divert attention,” Suri said.
Referring to recent developments, Raman Suri said it is ironic that while the NC is trying to make statehood its political plank, it has failed to honour even the commitments made in its own election manifesto.
“The delay in Panchayat elections is a glaring example of how this government has weakened grassroots democracy. It has failed to empower local bodies and has denied people their rightful democratic representation,” he said.
Suri asserted that the BJP led by its chief Sat Sharma will take the truth to Kashmir and make the people aware of how the NC has failed to live up to the expectations of those who elected it.
“We will ensure that people know how the NC betrayed the mandate it received,” he stated. Calling the NC’s statehood campaign “sheer escapism”, Raman Suri said the party is trying to shift the blame for its own failures onto the union government.
“Instead of accepting responsibility for poor governance, the NC is using statehood as a convenient excuse to avoid answering difficult questions. This is nothing but an attempt to escape its duties and deceive the people once again,” he said.
Reiterating the BJP’s position, Suri said the union government remains fully committed to restoring statehood to Jammu Kashmir at the appropriate time, as already assured.
“The people are intelligent enough to distinguish between genuine commitment and political drama. They want governance, development, employment and accountability not diversionary politics. The NC should stop misleading the people and start fulfilling the promises on which it sought their mandate,” he added.