On 7th June, National Conference (NC) President along with Member of Parliament Dr. Farooq Abdullah called for a virtual meeting of the party’s provincial committee members from Jammu and the meeting also had the party’s Vice President Omar Abdullah in attendance to discuss the issue faced by Jammu and Kashmir. “I will continue to fight for restoring the rights of the people of J&K,” said Dr. Farooq Abdullah.
Besides, National Conference General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar, the senior leaders Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Surjeet Singh Slathia, Rattan Lal Gupta, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Javed Rana, and Ajaz Jan were present in the 8-hour long meeting.
“We will uphold the interests of the people at all costs in every forum”, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said while addressing the National Conference officials of the Jammu Province. He said that the political issues after 5 August 2019 have been challenged by the party in the supreme court of India. Asserting on the point of assurance that the National Conference is not against the delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir, the party President Dr. Farooq Abdullah said “The method adopted, however, is not in tandem with the procedure”
Along with many other important issues flagged by the party officials, the NC president also showed concern over the road connectivity issue, especially for the smooth functioning of the Mughal Road. “This link is very vital between the two regions, as the National Highway between Jammu and Srinagar is over-stressed and cannot hold the pressure of such a massive vehicular movement. The railway connectivity between Jammu-Poonch and Jammu-Kishtwar is of paramount importance, which has already been taken up by the National Conference in Parliament,” he said.
Adding to it, Dr. Abdullah also pointed out that the railway connectivity is the most dependable mode of transport, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, which encounters road blockades for most of the year due to unexpected weather. “We will flag this issue with the Prime Minister as well,” he said.
Concern over the disastrous situation unfolded by the pandemic which caused various problems to people, was stressed by the NC President who further sought active support of the people in making the ongoing vaccination drive a success. “This is the only solution to defeating the virus and the party cadre must motivate the people to go for vaccination in a big way,” he said.
In the several hours long meeting, Omar Abdullah urged the party cadre to remain steadfast in their resolve and further strengthen its rank to be better prepared to overcome the challenges faced by Jammu and Kashmir unitedly and by preserving the age-old philosophy of communal peace and harmony. “This has been a proud legacy of the National Conference”, he said. He also asked party functionaries to review the party’s membership distribution process in Jammu Province.
The Vice President of the party addressed the need of further strengthening the party at the grass-roots level by launching a door to door campaign to reach out to the people and work on the issue with them so that all the problems are dealt with courage and resilience and to prepare the people for meeting the challenges faced in Jammu and Kashmir. “The mobilization by the cadre during the elections to District Development Councils unfolded the fact that the National Conference is a force to reckon with,” he said.
He joined the cadre in paying tribute to colleagues who died due to COVID in the past one year as a two-minute silence was observed.
Provincial President Devender Singh Rana, who conducted the proceedings of the virtual day-long conference, read out the obituaries of Thakur Rachpal Singh, Kashmira Singh, Abdul Wahid Shan, Gurdeep Singh Sasan, Rohit Kerni, and Mohammed Alam, saying they had contributed immensely in strengthening the party and serving the people in different capacities.
Omar expressed concern over better measures for tackling the virus while referring to more deaths in the Jammu region. He questioned the leader of the central government about their role in providing relief to the people of J&K who are suffering due to the pandemic.
He said the National Conference has, is and will remain in the forefront to seek justice for the people of all the regions and the sub-regions. “Public interest is sacrosanct for us”, he said and urged the cadre to articulate the problems of the people for seeking redressal to these.
During the conference, the former ministers, legislators, wings of various provincial wings of the National Conference, and district presidents participated in the deliberation.