J&K Congress chief asks workers to gear up for upcoming urban local bodies & panchayat elections

 Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani on 2 September asked party workers to gear up for the upcoming urban local bodies and panchayat elections, saying "deserving" candidates would be given the party mandate.

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the worst hit due to the "wrong policies" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP and accused them of "snatching" their rights over land and jobs and "downgrading" a full-fledged state to a Union Territory.

Addressing a meeting of party workers, Wani asked them to get ready to defeat the "anti-people, anti-youth, anti-students, anti-farmers" regime in the upcoming polls.

The Congress leader called upon the party functionaries to maintain close rapport with the public and highlight the "various failures" of the BJP government.

He asked the local leadership of districts, blocks, wards and observers to identify and shortlist candidates for the ULB elections.

"The deserving candidates will be given a mandate for the elections," he said.

Without taking any names, he said parties exploiting the sentiments of the people on various emotional issues for vote bank politics need to be isolated.

"They have utterly failed to deliver on their commitments, causing unrest in different regions and sections of the society. The people must identify such political parties and reject them for being their worst enemies and responsible for the mistrust and unrest amongst the people," he said.

Wani asked the people of the Jammu region to join hands and defeat the "nefarious designs of communal, divisive and separatist forces".

He also complimented the people of the Jammu region for believing in togetherness and religious harmony despite grave provocations by vested interests.

The Congress leader alleged that the wrong policies of the Narendra Modi-led government have "ruined" the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Modi government has snatched the right of jobs and land from the people of Jammu and Kashmir and downgraded a full-fledged state to a Union Territory. The property tax, toll plazas, smart electricity meters and unemployment have added to the misery of people of Jammu and Kashmir," Wani said.