NC cover up its corrupt practices says Baig

Srinagar, September 08 (Scoop News) –Senior party leader and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussein Baig today said the National Conference led government was demolishing all institutions of probity and accountability that had been established by the previous government with painstaking efforts.

Addressing a public meeting at Hanjoora in Chrara e Sharif constituency he said since the Chief Minister himself and most of his ministers have faced serious allegations of corruption, this government has tried to find security in dismantling all the institutions like State Information Commission (SIC), State Accountability Commission (SAC), State Vigilance Commission (SVC) and the State Vigilance Organisation. They have also seriously compromised the independence of investigation by State Police, Baig said.

Coming down heavily on the government for a virtual disempowerment of SIC by revising the rules governing the RTI act, Baig said Omar Abdullah is trying to make all institutions his hand maidens. He said the revision of rules has reduced the SIC to a mere rubber stamp which will have no authority to enforce its decisions and it will result in added litigation even on routine matters of seeking information from the government. “Why is this government so scared of sharing public information with the people if it has nothing to hide?” Baig asked. Baig said it was ironical that the government which refused to empower the panchayat institutions on the pretext of special position of the state was saying it changed RTI rules to bring them at par with the central Act. “This government has lost ability even to tell lies with the trademark expertise of NC” he said

Baig said the killing of Haji Yousuf and Cricket Association scam both established the involvement of Abdullah family in corrupt deals. He said police was prevented from making transparent investigation in both cases but people of the state now clearly see through the games that National Conference leadership has been playing with them for decades. There is no doubt in the hearts and minds of people that criminality has over taken this party and at the first available point it will be confined to the dustbin of history.

Baig said the SAC and SVC have been made completely defunct and these institutions are used only as propaganda handle by the government. “It is amusing that the Chief Minister should be citing the SAC as an evidence of his anti corruption crusade even after he challenged its jurisdiction in the state high court”. He said if Omar Abdullah found any lacuna in the law governing the SAC, shouldn’t he have come to the legislature to remove it rather than get proceedings against himself stayed from the court on a technical ground. He said “with a Chief Minister like that and the institutions in that helpless condition, it is no wonder that everything in the state  is on sale, whether it is political appointments like ministers, MLCs, money in the treasury, drugs in the hospital. jobs, transfers or certificates”.

Highlighting achievements of the previous PDP-Congress regime, Senior Vice President Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari said that PDP led regime had brought complete transparency in the governance and created an atmosphere for accelerating developmental activities. he, however, regretted that present regime has derailed the process of peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir.

“During the last four years and half years, alienation among people has been increasing due to governance deficit and rampant corruption”, he observed, adding, present regime has failed to bring transparency and accountability in governance.

“Corruption has been legitimized in Jammu and Kashmir because those at the helm of the affairs are themselves deep necked involved in corruption”, he said and added that the names of higher-ups in the government have also figured in a number of corruption cases. On this occasion Senior party leader and former Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra said that a leader like Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who has clean public image, could curb the menace of corruption in Jammu and Kashmir.  he reiterated resolve of  PDP is to evolve institutional arrangements to curb the menace of corruption in the government and administration.

       He said it was a pleasant development that the people particularly youth of the state had started getting impressed with the PDP agenda and aligning with it. “Self rule is a document of hope and it is natural that the youth who have been the worst victims of conflict strike an easy bond with our agenda” he said.

Speaking on the occasion Senior party leader and Former Chairman Legislative Council highlighted various issues of the area and the problems faced by general public and govt’s inefficiency in addressing these issues.

Noted RTI activist Dr Raja Muzaffar who recently joined the party also addressed the rally and highlighted the significance of the RTI and condemned the government action for amending RTI rules.

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