DDC Polls: BJP releases manifesto in Kashmir

SRINAGAR — A day after DDC elections began in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP released its election manifesto in Kashmir.

The party leader Vibodh Gupta released the manifesto in presence of senior party leaders from the Valley such as Sofi Yousuf and Darakhshan Andrabi.

The manifesto claims that while the BJP has unified the country by abrogating provisions of Article 370 and Article 35-A, that provided special status to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration – an amalgam of several mainstream political parties including NC and PDP – was working against the national interest for vote bank politics.

It further says that after reorganisation, Jammu and Kashmir has been put on a track of development and peace. The party claimed that stone-pelting was ended and terrorism was being dealt with an iron hand.

In the manifesto, the BJP also claimed credit for reserving 100 percent of government jobs in the Union Territory for its residents only and framing a policy that will spur industrialisation.

The party said it had launched a war against corruption and land grabbing in the Union Territory. It has said that basic amenities like electricity, water supply and road networks in the Union Territory had been improved as well.

The BJP also claimed credit for doing away with SRO-202, a policy brought in by the PDP-BJP government in 2015 under which newly recruited government employees in Jammu and Kashmir were paid a paltry remuneration for seven years before being paid full salary.

The first round of polling in the eight-phased maiden DDC elections was held on Saturday.

This is the first electoral exercise in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 last year.