Raja Syed Rather
Srinagar, Nov 1: Claiming that what BJP and PDP couldn’t finish in 11 years, National Conference will complete in five years, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary Saturday questioned the powers vested with the elected government.
Talking to the reporters after laying the foundation stone for the widening of the Boulevard Road, the Deputy Chief Minister, said the project was long pending and should have been completed years ago.
“Yesterday, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Qamarwari Bridge, and today, we started work on widening the Boulevard widening. These projects were delayed for over 11 years. Dalgate is a global identity of Kashmir and this road widening was extremely important. Contractors have been instructed to finish the work within the deadline,” he said.
He added that several bridges and roads, including Sanat Nagar and Qamarwari, remained incomplete for years. “What BJP and PDP couldn’t finish in 11 years, we will complete in five years,” he said, adding that the present government inherited a “huge backlog” and is working to complete pending works along with new commitments.
The Deputy Chief Minister asked the media to highlight the government’s sincerity and development work instead of “propaganda by previous regimes.”
Reacting to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s comments regarding statehood and governance, he said the elected government must be given full authority.
“LG Sahib should not confuse people. If an elected government doesn’t even get protocol and officers don’t stand with the cabinet, then how can you say we have full powers? Files and administration are still controlled. We do not want confrontation, but constitutional positions should remain non-political,” he said.
He said Jammu & Kashmir has limited resources as a Union Territory and reiterated the demand for restoration of statehood, land and job safeguards and strengthening democratic institutions.
Our priority is to fulfil the promises made by our leadership. The media should support efforts to make J&K strong and see statehood restored,” he added.
