Growth pushed to back-burner:NC

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 26

The National Conference (NC) today alleged that the state’s PDP-BJP coalition government has pushed the development to ‘back-burner” and unleashed an era of “unprecedented spree of arrests.”

Ali Mohammad Sagar, NC’s general secretary, who addressed party workers at several places here, also accused the state government claiming credit for inaugurating projects which were undertaken and completed during the last government headed by Omar Abdullah. “The PDP-BJP combine has pushed development to back-burner and utility services are continuing to be in shambles,” he said.

Sagar also accused the state government of inflicting “atrocities”. “As far as people are concerned, they only know how the innocent youth were killed, maimed and blinded besides atrocities inflicted upon them, irrespective of age and gender,” Sagar said.

Sagar said an “unprecedented spree of arrests has been unleashed at a large-scale and over 15,000 innocent people have been imprisoned within and outside the state to suppress their voice against tyranny”.

“The nightmarish era of indiscriminate arrests is continuing and instead of listening to the reason, the governmental agencies are brutally muzzling the voice of people,” he said. “In desperation, the government is slapping the Public Safety Act on whosoever comes under its scanner,” Sagar said.

The NC has increased its political activity in the region in the run-up to upcoming bypolls on two parliamentary constituencies in the Kashmir valley, which it is contesting in alliance with the Congress.