Srinagar, Mar 24 : Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Tuesday accused the National Conference government of tailoring the proposed amendments to the Land Grants Act to benefit the “super elites” and party donors, asserting that the poor were being used merely as a “political cover.”
The MLA Handwara termed it a “sin” to project legislation as being for the underprivileged when they had no stake in the proposed changes.
“First we fail to do anything for the poor, and second we use the name of the poor to provide cover to the process of exploitatively enriching the elites,” Lone told news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS).
He demanded that the government clarify how the amendments would benefit the 51 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir officially recognised as poor under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) categories, as well as those in the lower middle-income group.
“This bombast that the bill is for the poor is very, very irritating. Could you please tell us how the poor will be helped in the proposed changes in the Land Grants Act?” he asked.
Lone alleged that the amendments were “not meant to help them and will not help them,” adding that the “sole motive” behind the move was to assist the “super elites” and the “super rich” of the region.
“I am not against help being rendered to them. But why use the name of the poor? And why leave out the poor?” he questioned.
The Peoples Conference president claimed the ruling party had two sets of backers — those who donated money without voting, and the lakhs of poor voters who stood in queues for hours to cast their ballots.
“This bill, if it is tabled and passed, will be for the elite donors who paid donations and not the poor voters. So it is a government elected by the voters for the rich, elite donors,” he said.
MLA Lone added, “But then those who queued up elected a government which it seems we as people deserved. Garbage in, garbage out.” (KNS)
