The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, lashed out at the mainstream political parties for opposing the land for landless scheme. He said that these parties are responsible for the killings of 50,000 innocent people in the state.
Sinha was addressing a three-day national workshop on Panchayat with Good Governance at the Convention Centre in Srinagar. He said that the mainstream parties are not able to digest peace in the state and they are trying to provoke people to promote street violence.
He asked the Sarpanches, Panchs, BDCs, and DDCs to pinpoint a single case where land or home was provided to a non-J&K resident under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). He said that not a single non-J&K resident has been provided land or home under the scheme.
Sinha said that the peace and normalcy that has been restored in the state in the past four years is a big change. He said that schools and colleges are now open throughout the year and people are not afraid to venture out after sunset.
He said that the real governance flows through the Panchayats and that the dream of a village with good governance will be fulfilled. He added that 30,000 projects are underway at the Panchayat level and that people are reaping the benefits of the Panchayati Raj system.
Sinha’s speech was seen as a direct attack on the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, the two main political parties in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC and the PDP have been critical of the land for landless scheme, saying that it will benefit non-J&K residents.
The LG’s speech comes at a time when the state is gearing up for the panchayat elections, which are scheduled to be held later this year. The elections are seen as a litmus test for the popularity of the BJP-led government in the state.
