Jammu: Opposition National Conference (NC) today accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of being “corrupt and intolerant” and appealed to the Centre to set up an inquiry panel for conducting an audit of the money pumped for the state’s development.
Provincial president and MLA Devender Singh Rana made the appeal after he walked out of a review meeting of the Jammu District Development Board along with party legislator Kamal Arora.
He was protesting against the working of BJP ministers and their alleged failure to mitigate the problems of the people of Jammu region.
“An inquiry commission should be set up to look into the working of various departments. I appeal to the prime minister and the home minister to dispatch a team of secretaries and undertake audit to find where the money pumped for development is going,” Rana told reporters at party headquarters here.
“They (BJP leadership) want to muzzle the voice of opposition. They do not want opposition and have become intolerant because they are inefficient and corrupt. It is the most corrupt government I have seen,” he alleged.
He questioned whether the money was being utilised properly or filling the coffers of those in power here.
Rana claimed Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, the representative of the government, had “failed to deliver and serve the cause of the people of Jammu”.
He also hit out at the deputy chief minister who chaired the meeting.
“When the road sector was taken up, the meeting was informed that 253.90 km road length was macadamised against the total target of509.31 km in 2017-18. It cannot take place after November 15 but Singh asked for macadamisation of the road in front of his house and the circuit house citing frequent VIP movement,” he claimed.
“I raised an objection and asked why he was only concerned about a particular road rather than other roads in the city and the failure to achieve the cent per cent target. Singh lost his temper and accused me of playing politics over the issue,” he alleged.
“I told him I was only concerned about the overall development since there would be no macadamisation after November 15,” he said, adding “when asked what is the need for us to be here, Singh said it is better to leave”.
He alleged that the government had failed in the development of Jammu region and a perception prevailed that corruption was at its peak.
He claimed that several centrally-sponsored schemes had not started in Jammu as “the BJP says they are not able to get contractors for the implementation of the project”.
Asked about the preparations for the upcoming panchayat elections, he said, “Let them hold the twice deferred Anantnag parliamentary bypolls first and test the waters.
PTI