news details |
|
|
| NC-Congress coalition and people of the state | | Disappointment & Dissatisfaction | | Rustam
JAMMU, Nov 16: The plight of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was never so miserable as it has been since January 2009, when the NC-Congress coalition formed government.
The people wanted roads, water, electricity, jobs and adequate healthcare and educational facilities. They also wanted a transparent, accountable and corruption-free administration, as also an administration that would eliminate the scourge of terrorism and separatism based on religious fanaticism and enable them to lead a life in peaceful environment. These were their hopes, expectations and aspirations.
Unfortunately, however, the NC-Congress coalition failed to live up to their expectations and the result is the widespread discontent and dissatisfaction among all, except within a very limited circle - ministers, legislators, bureaucrats and those occupying vital positions in the government and political parties. In fact, we have a government in the state which is of them, by them and for them. As for the people, they do not have a government worth its name in the state. There exists mistrust of an extreme form between the ruler and the ruled. Everything is in a shambles.
The youth is unhappy because the state government has not done anything to generate employment opportunities. Their woes have further multiplied because the employment policy is applied in the wrong way. Those who deserve are being rigorously excluded and those with connection at right places are being accommodated, sometime through backdoor. The youth of Jammu is the worst sufferer. The recruitment agencies have become den of corruption and they are under the complete control of those at the helm. In fact, the recruitment agencies have been politicized. What has added more to the unhappiness is the new job policy, which they dismiss as scandalous. Under the new job policy, the persons appointed shall get 50 per cent of the basic pay for the first three years and 75 per cent during the next two years, sans allowance. Jammu & Kashmir is the only state in the country that has introduced this scandalous job policy and the most horrible aspect of the whole situation has been that the chief minister has declared that he would not withdraw the new job policy. Even far more disturbing has been the negative attitude of the so-called mainstream Congress party, which is a party to the decision. It's no wonder then that the youth whom we term as the nation's future is feeling the pain.
The plight of the small and marginal farmers and other marginalized sections is no less pathetic. They are living from hand to mouth. The revenue and agriculture policies are flawed, and even one region-centric. The evil effects of these policies are the failure on the part of the government to provide against natural calamities and pestilence by agricultural developments, by fiscal reforms and by sanitary improvements. These policies have also resulted in an increased burden of taxation upon the necessaries of life. The already half-starved common people have to pay tax on the salt they eat, on the oil they burn and on the strip of ordinary cloth which they tie round their loins. And, remember, the small and marginal farmers, plus other marginalized sections, constitute over 80 per cent of the total population in the state. No one in the administration takes care of them. The PDP has rightly said that the present regime is a regime of loot and plunder.
The government employees are also not happy with the government and this unhappiness or disconnect between them and those at the helm has adversely impacted the whole administrative apparatus. They are unhappy because they are not getting their dues. The plight of the pensioners is far more pathetic. They are not getting their arrears.
The insensitive NC-Congress coalition has come out with a formula under which the pensioners would get the arrears in five installments, 20 per cent each year. The NC-Congress coalition says it has no money in the treasury. This appears to be a spurious excuse. There is no dearth of money. This can be seen from the fact that the state government only recently enhanced the salaries and allowances of the legislators and ministers manifold in one go. In other words, the NC-Congress coalition government has made invidious, unjust and humiliating distinctions between the legislators and the employees, plus the poor pensioners. It's no wonder that the employees and the pensioners have developed hatred for the NC and the Congress.
Those engaged in industry are also facing difficulties. The state government has no industrial policy and if it all it has one it is highly flawed. The result has been that most of the industrial units, particularly in Jammu province, have turned sick. It is obvious that the sick industry cannot give employment.
The truth, in short, is that the people are suffering and the ruling class and those associated with the government and legislature are exploiting their official positions to promote their own selfish interests. It's a state of anarchy. The people appear fed up with the present dispensation. They are seething with anger. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
