Jammu: Veteran Congress leader, Karan Singh and son of J&K’s last Dogra monarch Maharaja Hari Singh on Tuesday called for free and fair assembly elections in J&K stating that there is a lack of communication between the public and the bureaucracy in the region.
He also demanded the restoration of the full statehood.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function, the former Sadr-i-Riyasat’ of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said there is no possibility of taking back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) without a war which only brings death and destruction.
Responding to a question about the policies of the BJP-led government of India in J&K, he said “it (the developments of 2019 when the Centre revoked Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territories), was a very drastic step to remove the whole special structure and it has now been three years that J&K is under central administration.
“A lot of good things have happened and there is no doubt about it, but what I gather is that there is a lack of communication between the public and the bureaucracy. MLAs, whether good or bad, play an important role as they are intermediaries between people and the government” he said.
“Today, there are no MLAs and so there is a bureaucracy and they cannot listen to everyone. It is not their job and that gap needs to be filled, which can be done by holding free and fair elections to pave way for a popular government. The popular government will be a link that is missing,” he said.
