Congress Demands Restoration Of Jammu And Kashmir's Statehood, Early Conduct of Assembly Polls

The Congress on Monday demanded the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and early holding of assembly polls.

 All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Dolly Sharma accused the Narendra Modi government of handling matters related to Jammu and Kashmir in an autocratic manner.

 Addressing a press conference, Sharma and party leader Devashish Jarariya also targeted the central government over the issues of price rise and unemployment.  "Before coming to power, Modi made huge promises to hoodwink people...but he couldn't fulfill even one of them," Sharma charged.

She said the price of LPG has gone up by 156 percent, petrol by 40 percent, diesel by 75 percent, mustard oil by 122 percent, wheat flour by 81 percent, and milk by 71 percent under the Narendra Modi government.

 "AICC is all set to hold a massive 'Mehangai Par Halla Bol' rally at the Ram Lila Ground in Delhi on September 4. People from all over the country will participate in the rally against price rise in large numbers," she said.

Modi had promised to provide two crore jobs every year, but only 7.5 lakh jobs were given in the eight years, she claimed. The government made huge claims about startups but in reality more than 20,000 youths have been retrenched by them, she claimed.

 In Jammu and Kashmir, the administration has collectively punished candidates who had qualified for various jobs over corruption and malpractices on its part, they alleged. "The Modi government has resolved to render every deserving candidate jobless. PM Modi has resolved to take from the poor and give it to his rich friends and that's exactly what he has been doing for the past eight years," Jarariya alleged.

 "Jammu and Kashmir have a huge capacity for power production. Despite harnessing thousands of megawatts of power, it's kept in dark. The people of Jammu and Kashmir rightfully deserve a part of that power which is produced here," he said. 

 They also demanded that Jammu and Kashmir's statehood be restored immediately and assembly elections be conducted.