Cong leader: Safeguard rights of Dogras, restore statehood status

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 13

Former Member of Parliament (MP) and senior Congress leader Madan Lal Sharma has demanded restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and safeguarding the rights of the Dogras.

“The government has demoted people of Jammu by converting J&K into a Union Territory which is a first of its kind demotion in the history of India,” Sharma said.

He said law should be introduced so that local youths have a right over jobs. “The land and ecology of the state should not be allowed to be eroded by land mafia which may now come here,” he said.

Sharma demanded the introduction of laws wherein non-locals could not buy land like in Himachal Pradesh. This was necessary to protect farmers who might fall victim to land sharks of adjoining states.

He also demanded that Dogri language should be made the official language of J&K so that local culture, heritage and language were not lost due to the influx of people from other states.