Srinagar, Sep 21: Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference President Sajad Lone on Monday launched a sharp critique against the National Conference government, citing assembly data that reportedly revealed a significant discrepancy between election promises and the actual number of jobs created in the region.
According to details received by The Chenab Times, Lone, who is also the MLA from Handwara, raised concerns regarding recruitment figures following the adjournment of the assembly. He asserted that the provided data exposed what he described as “ugly truths” and “false promises” made by the incumbent government.
Lone specifically targeted the National Conference’s election manifesto, which he characterized as a “litany of lies.” He claimed that the manifesto had pledged one lakh new jobs for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, according to the figures presented, the government has so far managed to create only 899 jobs. Based on these statistics, Lone calculated that at the current pace, it would take an estimated 222.46 years to fulfill the promise of generating one lakh jobs.
The Peoples Conference leader also highlighted what he termed as another broken promise concerning the filling of vacant posts in government departments. The National Conference had reportedly committed to filling all vacant positions within 180 days of assuming power. Assembly data, however, indicates that only 7,580 vacancies have been filled over the past two years, leaving 40,672 posts still vacant.
Breaking down the unfilled positions, Lone noted that 24,427 non-gazetted posts, 3,318 gazetted posts, and 12,927 multi-tasking staff positions remain unoccupied. He suggested that at the present rate of recruitment, it would take over a decade to clear the backlog of these 40,672 vacant positions.
Furthermore, Lone addressed the issue of application fees for government jobs. He stated that the National Conference had pledged to waive these fees to remove financial barriers for job aspirants. However, Lone revealed that his own inquiry submitted to the assembly a year prior yielded a report indicating that the government had collected crores of rupees in application fees, a point he contrasted sharply with the election pledge.
The accusations come amidst ongoing political discussions and scrutiny of governance and employment generation initiatives in the Union Territory. The opposition parties have frequently voiced concerns over the administration’s performance in delivering on its electoral promises, particularly in sectors critical to youth employment.
Lone’s statements underscore the persistent demand for greater accountability and transparency in government recruitment processes. The figures presented by him, purportedly drawn from official government records, are expected to fuel further debate on the effectiveness of employment strategies in Jammu and Kashmir.
The credibility of the cited assembly data and the government’s response to these allegations are anticipated to be central to the ongoing political discourse within the region. The discrepancy between the promised job creation and the reported outcomes suggests a significant challenge for the administration in addressing public expectations regarding economic development and employment opportunities.
The Peoples Conference, led by Lone, has been actively engaging in public discourse on governance issues, often focusing on transparency and the fulfillment of electoral mandates. His remarks represent a direct challenge to the National Conference’s record on job creation, a key concern for a significant portion of the region’s population.
The Chenab Times News Desk