Apni Party holds convention in Shopian

Government failing on all fronts: Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari

JK News Today

Srinagar, June 25: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Wednesday said that the government in Jammu and Kashmir is failing on every front, and asserted that “as a committed guardian of public interests, Apni Party will continue to keep an eye on the government’s performance, expose its failures, and ensure it is held accountable.”

He made these remarks today while addressing a public convention in South Kashmir’s Shopian. Several other prominent party leaders also spoke at the gathering.

He expressed his disappointment over the elected government’s performance and said this government is failing on all fronts.

He said, “Since the day this government was formed, it has only made excuses for its failures. Sometimes it claims it lacks the necessary powers; other times, it says its performance is hindered by other power centers, and so on. The fact is that the government has even failed to address even the most basic and pressing issues.”

He went on to say, “Take, for example, the matter of domicile rights. What prevents the government from exercising its authority to extend the eligibility criteria from the current 15 years to a 50-year residency requirement? Likewise, what prevents this government—with such a large mandate—from raising the issue of prisoners? How long will our youngsters remain behind bars? This government, which the people entrusted with their confidence, does not even speak on the issue of detainees. The same goes for other issues that the people of J&K are grappling with.”

He said that the “traditional political parties whom people trusted and supported over the years and decades have always ended up betraying them.”

He blamed the people for “willingly allowing themselves to be deceived by these traditional parties” and advised them to introspect and change their mindset of repeatedly placing trust in the same political parties.

He said, “Today, we are not here to seek your votes—you have already chosen a government for five years. Yet, I urge you to introspect and ask yourselves, why do you continue to allow these traditional parties to deceive you again and again? It has been almost nine months since this government took office—has anything really changed? Has it addressed your problems?”

He added, “In all these months, they have done nothing for the common people. However, when it came to increasing the salaries of their MLAs, they acted swiftly and even joined hands with the BJP to achieve this goal.”

Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said that the Apni Party will play the role of a chowkidar (watchman) to keep an eye on this government, identify its failures, and ensure it is held accountable.

He said, “In the assembly elections, people did not elect us to form a government, but to act as a chowkidar—to keep an eye on this government. And I assure you that we will continue to fulfil this role with utmost dedication. We will ensure that this government is held accountable for its failures.”

Referring to the public issues Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said “In Shopian, farmers and orchardists have suffered huge losses due to harsh weather, including hailstorms during recent months. Frequent hailstorms and heavy rains have litrally destroyed fruits and other crops, leaving the people suffering huge losses. The government must come up with a package to compensate the sufferers. At the very least, these victims of the natural calamity should be compensated for fifty percent of their losses.”

He added, “On an immediate basis, orchardists must be provided with hail nets so they can protect their crops during harsh weather—especially during hailstorms. The government cannot be selective in providing hail nets as has been witnessed in several cases. The government must also introduce a comprehensive crop insurance scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.”

After the convention, while speaking with reporters and responding to a question, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari reiterated his demand for reforms in the current reservation system.

He said, “I am not against reservations, but it is not fair that an entire family—from the grandfather down to the grandson—continues to benefit from reservation certificates. Entire families repeatedly avail jobs across generations. We need to create a judicious system to ensure there is no exploitation in the name of category, and at the same time, we must protect merit.

Addressing the occasion, party’s General Secretary Rafi Ahmad Mir urged the Union Government to engage with the people of Jammu and Kashmir to address their problems and grievances. He said, “The Prime Minister has assured that his government will engage with the youth in Kashmir to address their problems. This is the time for the Centre to engage with the common people of J&K to ensure they are truly heard and their grievances are addressed.”

Mir also spoke about the abrogation of Article 370 and said, “Whatever was done on August 5, 2019, was not right. We are not happy about it, and we will keep saying it.” However, he emphasised the centre to address the immediate issues that people of Jammu and Kashmir are facing and grappling with.

Addressing the convention, the party’s Provincial President Mohammad Alshraf Mir said that Apni Party has decided to expose the failures of the government.

He said, “After this government was formed, our president advised us to give it a fair amount of time to perform and fulfill its promises. We believed it would deliver, as it had received a significant public mandate. However, after so many months, we see that this government is not even talking about the promises it made to the people during the elections. We will not remain silent in the face of this deception. We will continue to highlight the failures of the government.”

He expressed his grave concern over the growing unemployment and inflation, saying that people are suffering because of these issues, while the government seems least bothered to address them.

Chief Coordinator Abdul Majeed Padder, while addressing the rally, urged people to strengthen the Apni Party further and help it implement its people-friendly agenda for the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir and its people.

Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, and Abdul Majeed Padder, the prominent party leaders who addressed the rally or who were present on the occasion included Chief Spokesperson and State Secretary Muntazir Mohiuddin, President of the party’s Youth Wing Yawar Mir, Haqeeqat Singh, Advocate Ghulam Hassan Wani, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Owais Ahmad Khan, Nasrullah Koka, Mohammad Irfan Bhat, Nisar Ahmad Lone, Hilal Ahmad Sheikh, Mohammad Aslam Naikoo, Azhar Ahmad Wani, Mushtaq Ahmad Thokar, Mohammad Shafi, Subzar Ahmad, Ishtiyaq Malik, Showket Ahmad Dar, Aadil Ahmad , Mohammad Iqbal Magrey, DDC Nigeena Jee, Abdul Qayoom Wani, Moulana Waris , and others.