Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 24: The General Category People's Front, Jammu Kashmir (GCPF-JK), held a meeting today with Raj Kumar Banathia, the chairman of the Front, presiding over it. Prof. Yash Paul Sanson, the President, addressed the meeting and accused the L.G. administration of causing suffering to the people in various aspects. He expressed the Front's desire to rid themselves of an anti-people administration that had imposed heavy taxes, fees, fines, tolls, and service charges, making it difficult for people to manage their daily expenses, including skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and unprecedented inflation. These issues, according to Prof. Sanson, were the government's way of burdening the people.
The Front expressed strong dissatisfaction with the L.G. administration's decisions, which they believed had alienated the general public and would harm the BJP in the elections. They demanded provisions for 300 units of free electricity for every household in Jammu and Kashmir, similar to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Additionally, they called for an exemption of pensioners from income tax, as pension should not be considered income for any services rendered. They also requested an increase in the medical allowance for employees and pensioners, from Rs. 300/- to Rs. 1000/- per month.
The GCPF criticized the Union Government for its anti-poor decisions, such as imposing GST on food grains and essential commodities regularly used by the common people. They claimed that the government had encroached on fundamental rights, people's livelihoods, and exploited them in the name of religion, caste, class, and nationalism. The Front demanded the withdrawal of GST on food grains, stating that burdening the poor and middle class with taxes on new items would have severe consequences for the BJP in the upcoming elections.
Sanson also condemned the continuation of reservations without any review, considering the implementation of reservation based on the Mandal Commission report as illegal and unjustifiable due to its outdated nature. He argued that the socio-economic and political atmosphere of the country had significantly changed over the past 70 years, and today the nation demanded equal rights and equal laws for all. He appealed to the government to take bold steps to eradicate the social evil of reservation.
Som Nath Sharma, General Secretary, called upon the Government of India to take initiative steps to end casteism and promote the principles of equality, justice, liberty, and dignity for all citizens. He urged the unreserved category people to reflect on their situation and teach a lesson to leaders and political parties who engaged in divisive vote bank politics and appeasement policies, which he believed were responsible for the chaos and confusion in the country. Sharma emphasized that the Front had always been vocal about ending inequalities, injustices, and caste discrimination faced by the majority due to illegal reservations. He demanded the implementation of all verdicts given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India on reservation and the enactment of an equality act. |
