NC leader Muhammad Akbar Lone criticises Lt. Governor’s remarks

J&K’s oldest regional party, the National Conference (NC), appeared on Friday to be on a collision course with newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha over his recent remarks.

“Assertions of Lt. Governor on the development scenario of the past 70 years in J&K are not supported by facts on the ground. There is little material basis to such mythical claims,” said NC leader and Member of Parliament Muhammad Akbar Lone.

At a public function in Srinagar two days ago, Lt. Governor Sinha said a new beginning of change had been witnessed by J&K and the UT government was trying to push the agenda of development and progress forward. He had called for an introspection on “what J&K had got in the past 70 years.”

“These assertions should not be seen in isolation. It’s a part of a larger myth-making factory that works day in day out to give credence to the measures undertaken on the 5th of August last year,” Mr. Lone said. “Mr. Sinha’s pontification about rural development and people’s participation is rather hilarious.”

Mr. Lone said for the last one year J&K had only seen caging of representative voices, parliamentarians, former legislators, chief ministers, and other political activists. “People also remember how democracy was throttled by not allowing political outfits to form a duly elected government,” he said.

Implementation of the Panchayati Raj in J&K preceded the implementation of Panchayati Raj in the rest of the country. “The revolutionary pro-poor measures undertaken by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah had Jawaharlal Nehru and other leader in awe,” he said.