Jammu, August 27: More than a dozen deputations from Jammu city as well as Jammu, Samba and Udhampur districts met Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Sh. Surinder Choudhary at the National Conference Party Headquarters, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, in the presence of Adv. Rattan Lal Gupta, Provincial President, Jammu.
The deputations apprised the Deputy Chief Minister of various issues and demands concerning their respective areas. Sh. Surinder Choudhary gave a patient hearing to the deputations and assured them that their genuine grievances would be addressed. He also issued necessary directions to the concerned authorities for taking appropriate action and resolving the issues at the earliest.
Talking to media persons later, the Deputy Chief Minister justified the 6.83 per cent increase in electricity tariff, stating that the revision was necessary in view of the prevailing circumstances and requirements of the power sector. He pointed out that electricity tariffs had witnessed an increase of 28.5 per cent during 2017–2022, when the PDP-BJP coalition and subsequently the LG administration were in power in J&K.
Sh. Choudhary accused the BJP of misleading the people of Jammu by allegedly fabricating stories and creating negative narratives against the democratically elected Omar Abdullah-led government. He said that instead of raising genuine public issues and contributing constructively, the BJP was resorting to political theatrics.
Referring to the BJP’s recent activities on the security situation in Srinagar, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the BJP believed more in “dramebazi and nautanki” than in addressing the real concerns of the people.
He said the Omar Abdullah-led government was committed to addressing public grievances, strengthening development and ensuring that the genuine demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were given due consideration.
Adv. Rattan Lal Gupta reiterated that the National Conference would continue to remain accessible to the people and would take up their genuine issues with the government at every appropriate forum.
Among others who were present included: Sheikh Bashir Ahmad Provincial Secretary Jammu, Bimla Luthra former MLA, Deepinder Kour former MLC,Vijay Lochan Chairman SC Cell, Abdul Gani Teli OBC Cell, S. Tejinder Pal Singh Provincial President Jammu YNC, Th. Yashu Vardhan Singh Additional Spokesperson Jammu, Harshvardhan Singh President NCSU, Laxmi Datta Senior leader, Rakesh Singh Raka Vice President Central Zone, Rajni Devi Working President Women Wing Jammu, Sunil Verma District President Udhampur Urban, Ram parshotam Sharma District President Udhampur Rural, Sewak Singh District Vice President Jammu Urban, S. Gurnam Singh District Secretary Jammu Urban, Shokat Choudhary District President Samba ST Cell, Surinder Singh Jamwal, Mukand Lal Bandral, Rahul Attri, Nitish Gowsami, Rashpal Singh and others.