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| ‘Standing up against terror, best tribute to Rajiv’ | | | Early Times Rweporter
Jammu | May 21
Lauding the role of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi in putting India on the track of scientific and technological advancement, the Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that he belonged to the generation of leaders who upheld the principle of secular ideology at the cost of their lives. He said by assassinating great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the terrorists had caused a severe setback to the society.
Addressing a function on the 17th death anniversary of the former Prime Minister who was assassinated by terrorists this day in 1991, the Chief Minister said Rajiv’s assassination was a big loss to the country. He said his sacrifice enlivened the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi of not yielding to the forces inimical to peace. He said the militants, no matter whether they belonged to LTTE or were active in Jammu and Kashmir, had caused great setback to the society by assassinating great leaders. He said it was unfortunate that Jammu and Kashmir also lost two leaders, Molvi Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone on this fateful day at the hands of militants. He said the two leaders believed in dialogue to address the issues which was not to the liking of their assassins.
Azad said the best tribute to Rajiv Gandhi would be to uphold the secular principles, to fight against militant ideology and the forces bent upon dividing the country on caste, linguistic and regional lines.
Jammu and Kashmir PCC Chief and Union Minister for Water Resources, Prof Saifuddin Soz, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Mangat Ram Sharma, MPs, Ch Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma, Cong legislators and party office bearers were also present on the occasion.
Azad said that Rajiv Gandhi made strenuous efforts to take India forward and 15 years prior to the onset of the 21st century, drew up a blueprint for development of the country in the next century and prepared the country for the challenges ahead. He said the blueprint envisaged equal development of cities and villages without allowing any room for regionalism, casteism and narrow tendencies. He said he envisioned a strong, vibrant and self reliant India and worked towards achieving this goal. He said he had a clear vision on national and international issues and strived for the development of all sections of the society.
The Chief Minister stressed on the need to promote the political philosophy of the late leader which, he said, was focused on strengthening the sovereignty and integrity of the country, speeding up development and progress, ensuring peace and eradicating terror. He said he fought against the terror and laid down his life for the cause of national integrity. He called for fulfilling the dream of Rajiv Gandhi to take India forward on the road to progress.
The Chief Minister said that his government had been working on the agenda of development of each section of the society and extending facilities to all areas in the State. He said for the past two and a half years development projects had been taken up on fast track across Jammu & Kashmir with emphasis on providing and upgrading roads, drinking water, power, health and education facilities. He also referred to the historic Roshni Scheme launched by his government to transfer the State land to the farmers free of cost, saying it would help in increasing the agriculture production. He said lakhs of farmers would be benefited by this step.
The Chief Minister said that poor and downtrodden sections received special attention and the government took various initiatives to provide them succor. He said only yesterday the State cabinet, among other things, decided to give free ownership rights to the State land up to three marlas in urban area used for residential purposes. He also referred to the cabinet decision of regularizing the services of thousands of adhoc employees and said all these steps have been taken to provide succor to the poor. |
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