Reconsider Decision to Blacklist Contractors: PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti to J-K LG

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s decision to blacklist contractors for alleged links with terrorists was “arbitrary” and appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to reconsider it.

In a letter to Sinha, he said that previous governments in Jammu and Kashmir had formulated a rehabilitation policy for such people, aimed at ensuring their acceptance among society with dignity and removing the stigma of “organization”.

“I would like to draw your kind attention to the sad consequences of the administration’s recent decision to blacklist contractors. This is being done arbitrarily on the wrong assumption of direct or indirect links with militants,” Mehbooba wrote in the letter.

A cursory glance at the list reveals that most of the contractors were not even militants to begin with, he said.

“Fifty people, who had moved away from militancy long ago, while most of those disqualified are related by blood relations but not involved in any kind of violent activity,” he said.

The former chief minister said that the previous elected governments in Jammu and Kashmir had successfully formulated a rehabilitation policy for such persons.

“Its purpose was to ensure their acceptance with dignity among the society and to remove the stigma of ‘association’. It also had a major contribution in strengthening the reconciliation process, despite the fact that their decision to do so was dangerous. was fraught with consequences. Many were shot for making a choice that was seen as a betrayal,” she said.

Mehbooba said it was during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when her father and PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief minister had advocated and implemented a package to provide financial assistance to victims of militancy. Was.

“It also extended to the orphans of the rebels, who were bearing the brunt of a situation that was beyond their control,” she said.

“Today, after toiling for a dignified life for decades, these people are left as mute spectators as their lives are being ravaged. Therefore, I request you to reconsider your decision on humanitarian grounds.”

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)