Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said that attempts are now being made to create a wedge between the regions of Kashmir and Jammu for vested interests.
"Kashmir and Jammu regions have always been economically and socially dependent on each other. The cultural and social diversity of this erstwhile state has been its strength. All attempts in the past to shutter this bound have failed," Mufti said.
She said that the social and non-political organizations have to come forward in order to stop the "forces who are at play to divide people on cultural, linguistic and religious lines."
Mufti arrived in Jammu on a three-day tour, during which she will meet party district units besides social organizations from across the region to assess the present situation. She received a warm reception on her arrival at the party headquarters.
Various deputations called on her at the party office to apprise the former chief minister about the problems being faced by different sections of society.
Interacting with the deputations, Mufti said that Jammu faced the worst brunt due to abrogation of special status on August 5, 2019 and now the very identity of this region was at stake.
"Jammu is at the receiving end of all the measures taken by the present dispensation post abrogation of Article 370. Most of the orders issued in last two years have crippled the economy of this city, once known as the economic capital of Jammu and Kashmir," she said.
She said that her party has always put the interests of this region ahead of the organizational politics and it was due to this reason that respecting the mandate of Jammu, PDP took the most unpopular decision of entering into an alliance with BJP after 2014 elections.
"However, the region was betrayed by the very people, who were elected to power by Jammu. Even today those people and organizations, who claim to represent Jammu, are compromising with every relevant issue of the region to please New Delhi," stated Mufti.
A deputation of the Jammu and Kashmir Transporters Association apprised the former chief minister about the problems being faced by the people in the trade.
"The entire sector is at the brink of collapse due to the policies being implemented by the present dispensation," the Association informed, adding that the increase in toll tax, registration fee, insurance beside steep hike in petrol/diesel prices is forcing the transporters to wind up their businesses.
A separate delegation of the Wine Traders Association also called on her and requested her intervention to safeguard the interests of hundreds of families who have been left at the mercy of God in view of the new policy.
( With inputs from ANI )
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