With Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) headed for the Assembly elections after a decade, the National Conference (NC) on Monday released its poll manifesto in which the party has promised the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A as well as the repeal of the Public Safety Act (PSA) among its 12 guarantees given to the people of the Union Territory (UT) Indian Express reported.
Releasing the document, NC vice-president and ex-chief minister Omar Abdullah said it was more than a manifesto. “It is an agenda for governance and should the NC come to power, it will be a roadmap for the next five years,” he said.
As a part of the restoration of the legal and political status of Jammu and Kashmir, the manifesto states that the NC will “encourage” dialogue between India and Pakistan. “We advocate Indo-Pak dialogue as the best method to resolve ongoing conflicts. The yearning for peace and progress among the people of Jammu and Kashmir should compel these two nations to foster conditions that will end our miseries and promote better understanding and cooperation in South Asia,” it states.
The J&K elections will be held in three phases – on September 18, September 25 and October 1 – with the counting of votes scheduled for October 4.
Reiterating the promise made in its 2014 poll document, the latest NC manifesto pledges that it will strive for the “full implementation” of the resolution passed by the J&K Assembly on autonomy in 2000. “The autonomy resolution, an important milestone in the struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for identity and autonomy in all its dimensions, is of huge Constitutional importance and can still serve as a baseline for addressing internal dimensions of the problem and securing durable peace in the region,” it says.
In June 2000, the Farooq Abdullah-led NC government had passed a resolution in the Assembly, seeking to restore the pre-1953 Constitutional position in the state. It was, however, rejected by the then Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Through its manifesto now, the NC has also reiterated its position against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) while promising to protect land laws and employment rights “exclusively for the residents of the union territory and a review of all decisions made without the approval of the people”.
Like it did in its 2014 manifesto, the NC has stressed on its commitment to the “dignified return and rehabilitation” of Kashmiri Pandits while also proposing the constitution of a “truth and reconciliation commission” to “heal wounds, dispel misconceptions, and bridge the divide within communities”.
The party stated that it will seek amnesty for all political prisoners languishing in jails and has also proposed to streamline the verification process for travel documents like passports. It also promised to end the “unjust terminations” of employees across the UT.
The NC manifesto has promised to prioritise the passing of the Jammu and Kashmir Youth Employment Generation Act, aimed at providing one lakh jobs, within three months of coming to power. Calling unemployment the “most challenging issue of the day”, the party has also pledged to fill all vacancies in government departments within 180 days of assuming power. “We promise to provide 1 lakh jobs in the government sector and formal scheme driven ventures,” the document states, while also promising a relook at the reservation policy.
In the backdrop of the power crisis that hit the UT earlier this year, another key promise that the party has made is the transfer of hydroelectric projects to J&K while also promising 200 free units of electricity and a one-time settlement for electricity bill arrears in both rural and urban areas.
It has also promised a monthly assistance of Rs 5,000 to female heads of households falling under the the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) while increasing the monthly allocation of rice to 10 kg per person from the current 5 kg.
Other promises include restoring the autonomy of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, 12 free cylinders per year to all households and free education for children till university level Indian Express reported.
