National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah on an extensive tour of Jammu division and was at Jammu where he lectured and deliberated on political issues and accused the centre for dividing people of communal and regional lines in Jammu Kashmir. He also boasted of his party – the National Conference being the only party representing people of all regions and sub-regions within J&K.
He interacted with the National Conference workers and leaders at party office and talked on many subjects but he did not utter a single word in his deliberations on the huge damages suffered by the farmers of Jammu as the unseasonal heavy rains and hailstorms caused havoc to their standing crops.
On his leaving Jammu via Mughal Road to Shopian, Farooq Abdullah impressed upon the Government of India to come to the rescue of Kashmir Horticulture sector through policy intervention.
Contrary to what he claimed his party being the true representative of all regions, expressed his worry, at Shopian while addressing scores of Orchardists who had called on him during a brief stopover of his in the District.
Ending his week-long stay in Jammu Province, Dr Farooq easily forgot to express his similar concern for the farmers of Jammu and severe damages to the crop in the region. While criticizing centre of his policy of dividing people yet his utterings at Jammu in the same breath were full of communal and regional overtones when he tried to identify Chenab and Pir-Panchal sub-regions with Kashmir valley.
While interacting with the fruit growers Dr Farooq stated that the issues concerning the Fruit growers are immense and need the timely intervention of the central government. It is good that leaders should speak for the people of all areas and should feel for their miseries in an equitable manner without any discrimination.
He said, despite the last three decades of uncertainty, the Horticulture Industry in Jammu and Kashmir which is considered as the backbone of the region's economy, was flourishing but over the past few years the fruit industry in Kashmir has faced severe economic crisis owing to multiple reasons ranging from weather vagaries and the lockdown following August 05 2019 decisions.
He counted a number of factors like the spread of scab in orchards due to the spray of fake and substandard pesticides and fungicides, which proved to be the last straw that broke the back of the fruit industry in Kashmir.
He even suggested to the Centre that Govt of India should invest for the long term basis on augmenting the number of Cold storages and reestablishment of sale and purchase centres of fertilizers and pesticides at tehsil levels across Kashmir. A big loan waiver for marginal growers will also help to rescue them from impoverishment.
He took his party cadre of Jammu region for granted as if they do not have any regional aspiration and concern for miseries of their brethrens. Earlier governments in erstwhile Jammu Kashmir state, including those of National Conference have already been accused of perpetrating discrimination with people of Jammu and this was the main reason that people in Jammu did not support the opposing postures of politicians of Kashmir on the issues of Article 370.
The conduct of National Conference in the past and present has already cast the party as Kashmir centric and thus lost its claims of being secular and to be representing at least Jammu and Ladakh regions.
