Srinagar: Asserting that the members of the Sikh community will vote for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) said nobody will be allowed to divide the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir on communal lines.
Accusing the coalition National Conference (NC) and Congress government of discriminatory against the Sikh community in the state, APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said all the successive state and central governments have failed to do justice with the members of the community since 1947.
Claiming that the coalition has miserably failed to solve the genuine problems of their community, he said NC and Congress have no moral or ethical authority to seek votes from Sikhs living across the state.
"A campaign has already been launched during Lok Sabha elections against the coalition NC and Congress, but it will be further intensified to ensure members of the community vote against them (NC-Congress) in Assembly elections too," Raina said.
The APSCC chairman alleged that Sikhs in the state have been deprived of their due rights that have been incorporated in the Constitution and also ratified by amendments from time to time.
"APSCC will also fight against communalising the Assembly polls. We will not allow polarisation in the state and fight for Kashmriyat, which is love for all," he said.
"Some people are trying to divide people on 'Hindu Jammu, Muslim Kashmir and Buddhist Ladakh', it is a dangerous trend for the unity of the state," he added.
Hitting out at NC-Congress coalition for ignoring the youths in the state, he alleged that there are more than 1,00,000 vacancies in the state and the government, headed by Omar Abdullah, has failed to employee unemployed youths during all these years of misrule.
Highlighting the problems of the community, the APSCC chairman said despite being a minority community the state government has done nothing to ensure that the benefits of National Minority Act are extended to the Sikhs of state. "The National Commission of minorities has clearly spelt out that Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains are minorities in India. There are certain special privileges for the people belonging to the minority communities," he said, adding however, for the reasons best known to them the state government did not extend the National Minority Act to the Sikhs of the state.
"The scheme is fully centrally sponsored and there is no burden on the state exchequer. As on date the Sikhs of Jammu and Kashmir are not a minority and continue to be deprived of the privileges due to them," he said.
Raina said despite repeated reminders by former chairman of National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habuibullah, NC-lead government did not change the ground situation. "We continue to suffer with nobody ready to listen to us," he said.
Raina said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while addressing devotees at Gurdwara Chatti Padshahi during Gurupurab celebrations in 2013 announced that elections for Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee would be conducted soon.
Although notification was issued a few days later for elections, but no polling was held, he said.
"We also made representation to the higher ups in the government about the introduction of Punjabi subject in the schools and colleges in Kashmir Valley. The introduction of this subject would have created employment opportunities for members of Sikh community. But our requests fell to deaf ears," he said.
"The APSCC recently convened a two day session of the community members in which more than 900 delegates took part. It was unanimously decided that the politicians who have exploited the sentiments of the community would be out-rightly rejected this time around," he added.
(Abid Soffi is Managing Editor, Kashmir Pioneer and he lives in Srinagar.)
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