Congress, NC neglected Doda; now shedding crocodile tears: Dr Jitendra

DODA: Hitting out hard at Congress and National Conference parties, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that Doda had been brazenly neglected for nearly seven decades when these parties were ruling both at Center as well as in the State and the irony is that now when the people have voted them out of power, they are shedding crocodile tears to bemoan the neglect of the Doda region for which they were themselves responsible.

Addressing a public rally here today, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled the sequence of events and said, ever since independence, there was not a single occasion when the MLAs or the MPs from this region did not find a strong position in the State Cabinet or the Union Cabinet, but the apathy by these elected representatives is evident from the fact that they did not even attend to the development of their own native places.

Citing example, he said, the first-ever Post Office and the first ever branch of Sate Bank of India was set up at Gandoh after 2014 and the first ever national project in Bhaderwah was set up by the Modi government in the form of National Institute of High Altitude Medicine.

Strongly rebutting those opposition leaders who say that all the development projects were initiated in this region before 2014, Dr Jitendra Singh said, we live in an evidence based era when even before a leader finishes completing his speech, the common man listening to him tends to check the facts and figures on the Internet. He claimed that only several new national level development projects were initiated after 2014 but many of such projects which had been stopped by the earlier governments during the tenure of earlier MPs and MLAs have been revived now.

Enumerating examples, Dr Jitendra Singh said the Government Medical College in Doda was set up during his Parliamentary term after 2014 and so also the Khilani Sudh Mahadev National Highway was started during his term. Not only this, he recalled that the Ganpat bridge which had been abandoned unfinished by the earlier government and earlier elected representatives, was also completed during this term.

In nearby Kishtwar, Dr Jitendra Singh said not only a series of power projects were started in the last eight years including the 1000 MW Pakal Dul Project, 624 MW Kiru Project, 520 Kwar Project, 930 MW Kirthai Project, but also the 850 MW Ratle Project which had been stalled before 2014 has also been revived, as a result of which Kisthwar is going to turn into the biggest power hub of North India.

While the Congress and National Conference followed a policy of discrimination based on vote bank, Dr Jitendra Singh said, after 2014, we have tried to fulfill the requirement of every region regardless of whether they voted for us or not in the last election.

Citing example he said, while a Degree College was started in Kastigarh, it was simultaneously sanctioned for Marmat from where the non-BJP parties received the maximum vote.

Dr Jitendra Singh announced that the construction of Chhatargala tunnel will be taken up under Bharatmala Mala scheme and will be part of the new National Highway from Lakhanpur through Bani-Basohli up to Doda, Bhaderwah. This will be a game changer, he said.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and as a member of his team, Dr Jitendra Singh said, we have tried to cultivate a new political culture based on objectivity and justice to all. For example, it is during this regime and his parliamentary term that a network of PMGSY roads and CRF roads funded by the Centre has been spread even to the native towns and villages of the Congress and National Conference leaders. Similarly, he said, the benefits of people centric schemes like distribution of gas cylinders through Ujjwala Yojana and construction of houses under PM Kisan Yojana has been done for anyone who was needy regardless of his caste, creed, religion or vote preference.

DDC Chairman Dhananter Singh, former Minister Shakti Raj Parihar, former MLA Dilip Singh among other also addressed the gathering. All of them hailed the fact that after 2014 under the Modi Government ever since Dr Jitendra Singh had been elected the MP the scale of development works was much more than the past 60 to 70 years.