CLP leader accuses govt of being anti-Ladakh

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 27

CLP leader Nawang Rigzin Jora has accused the government of being anti-Ladakh.

He has alleged that the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government’s promise of equitable development of all three regions has been exposed by its failure to recommend Leh to be taken up under the smart city project.

“Nobody can deny that after the two capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu, Leh is the third most important city of the state,” Jora said.

In a statement issued here today, Jora said from the historical perspective, Leh used to be the trade centre for traders from the central Asian cities of Kashgar and Khotan, who would bring their merchandise.

“Post independence, Leh became one of the most important strategic towns with an airport and other important defence establishment,” he added.

The CLP leader said since 1975, when the area was thrown open to foreign tourists, Leh had been attracting a number of foreign tourists.

Welcoming the inclusion of Anantnag and Katra for the smart city project, despite not fulfilling the criteria laid down, through relaxation citing religious significance of the cities, he said the same could have been done for Leh.

“This only exposes the coalition government’s double standards. The promise of equitable development and equitable share for all three regions that this government promised is a mere slogan and political rhetoric chides,” he added.

He said if this coalition government truly believes in giving all three regions its due, they should recommend Leh to be included for the smart city project.

Jora on Sunday said Union Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh’s assertion that “AIIMS was sanctioned for Jammu, and it has no linkage whatsoever with IIT and IIMs” has nailed the lie of the BJP ministers in the ruling dispensation.

“The trade off, therefore, happened at the level of the state government. The Deputy Chief Minister and his colleagues in the Council of Ministers are answerable as to why they traded off Jammu’s interest,” Jora said in a statement issued here.

He said the Congress was, at least, “truthful and clear” about equitable development and equitable share for all three regions.

“The BJP, on the other hand, traditionally projected itself as the champion and guardian of the rights of Jammu region. They got the historical mandate precisely on this issue alone. It, therefore, came as shock that the ministers from the BJP in the Mufti Sayeed government proved to have feet of clay, deceiving the people who voted them to power,” he added.