Baramulla, May 15 (KNO): National Conference vice president and Lok Sabha Baramulla Parliamentary constituency candidate, Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that if voted to power, the party will revise and streamline the verification process for youth, who are "suffering unjustly due to faults they haven't committed".
Addressing a gathering in the Tangmarg village of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, Omar, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that youth are currently being harassed and subjected to inconvenience regarding police verifications. They are being held accountable for crimes they did not commit, he said.
"We must fight for the release of the youth languishing in jails outside Kashmir, who are detained without any charges. Only then will the people of Kashmir receive justice," he added.
Abdulah said when he was in power, he focused on halting the blacklisting system. "A militant's son is not a militant, a militant's relative is not a militant. It's not justified. Even youths who were not born during the 1990s are being denied verifications, citing that their relative was a militant at that time," he said, adding "Those who formed militant groups and provided weapons to people are enjoying themselves. Their verification was never halted and their passports were never revoked."
We will revise and streamline the verification process to ensure that youth do not face undue hardships, the NC leader promised.
The former chief minister further said that Jammu and Kashmir now tops the list of unemployment. "From civil administration departments to top-ranking police officers, every official is from outside J&K, who cannot even understand the Kashmiri language," he claimed.
"Whether it is the recruitment in J&K banks to contracts for sand extraction from the Jhelum, outsiders are being given preference. Where should the people go?" Omar questioned.
He said Kashmir has witnessed the worst since the abrogation of Article 370. "Be it electricity or any other basic necessity, people have to pay for nothing. Our electricity is nowhere to be found; we experience hours of power cuts despite smart meters. Even our villages are now receiving electric bills above 1600 rupees. When I was in power, it used to be Rs 200-400," he said.
Urging people to vote for him on May 20, the NC leader said, "It is only a semi-final now. We have to prepare for the finals, which are the assembly elections," he said.
Earlier on May 12 in Sopore, Omar said, "We have repeatedly stated and are reiterating that if the National Conference is voted to power, we will abolish the Public Safety Act (PSA) law in Jammu and Kashmir."—(KNO)