Jammu, Dec 20 : Jammu, December 20, (Scoop News)- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti has said employment generation for youth will be the main focus of her party’s economic goals if it gets a decisive mandate from the people in the coming elections.
Addressing a public meeting at Lam in Nawshera constituency of Rajouri district she said the youth of J&K can rewrite a new destiny for themselves and for the state, if they are involved fully in the system and given due opportunities where they can excel and bring about a perceptible change on the ground. But, she said, the youth of the state have been, unfortunately, pushed to the wall and denied space in the political, economic and social spheres over the last more than 60 years. Senior PDP leadera Yashpal Sharma MLC, Ch. Zulufkar Ali MLA, Surinder Chaudhary, Assadudin Bari, Nanak Chand, Capt. Yograaj, Subedar Surjeet Kuamr, Beeta Devi Panch, Arshid Mehmood, Subedar Giyan Chand, Jagdesh Chander Sarpanch, Jung Bahadur Sarpanch, Ayoub Khan, Mohammad Javed, Ishfaq Ahmad, Sanjay Chaudhry, Khem Raaj, Ashok Ji Naib Sarpanch, Ch. Ajit Singh and others were also present on this occasion.
Mehbooba said the reason for present uncertainty in J&K is also because of the fact that the youth have been denied a democratic space by the National Conference (NC), which devoured a generation of brilliant young people.
She said it was the PDP’s vision to get the state out of this present mess and ensure a dignified political solution to problems and the young people forms the core of the party’s agenda.
Mehbooba said without involving the youth in the governance system, the situation could get back on tracks and to do so, needs a strong political will, seriousness of the leadership, and courage to deliver.
The PDP president said it was the reason, PDP, with the support of people, during its brief stint in the government, realised an accountable, honest and transparent system, which ensured a fair deal for every stakeholder. “We carry forward our unfinished agenda of political resolution and economic empowerment of the people. The recruitment processes will be made transparent and the deserving, hardworking people will get their chance, in our future scheme of things,” she said adding PDP will establish environment friendly industries to generate dignified and meaningful employment chances for the youth.
She said, to provide modern educational facilities at the door step students, the PDP during its stint in the government established new universities, opened dozens of colleges, established skill enhancement and technical institutes in every nook and corner of the state. “There was need of more research, professional and technical institutions that will help in producing quality human resource for the state,” she said.
Mehbooba said tourism, agriculture and horticulture are the areas of strength of J&K and these sectors offer huge employment avenues and the PDP will harness them to optimum to make the state self-reliant.
She said the Rajouri and Poonch districts offer a huge potential for tourism and horticulture, but it has so far, remained untapped, but the PDP will go for robust, planned industrialization in the area, which would not be having any negative impact on the environs around.
She said PDP during its tenure in the government established more than one dozen tourism development authorities for the backward areas, but those have been left useless by the present government. Because of the lack of money these authorities have not been able get the desired results on the ground. “Instead of planned development of these areas, the present government has facilitated validation of tourist areas either for money or to favour its agents or relatives of ruling politicians”.
Calling for a change in the system, she said it now the responsibility of the people to make things better for themselves. “The way to achieve this noble goal is to hold political parties accountable for their performance and vote for them only on merits and public service rendered by them”, said Mehbooba.
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