Urges Support for Land Rights and Daily Wager Bills in Assembly
Diplomat Correspondent
Srinagar: DD, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday urged support for two key bills in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly concerning land rights and regularisation of daily wage workers.
Speaking in the apress Conference in Srinagar about the ongoing Rajya Sabha elections, Mehbooba said, “We held a meeting yesterday with senior leaders and MLAs to discuss our strategy. As I already said, Farooq Sahab called me and asked for our party’s support. I told him that we need two bills to be passed in the Assembly first.”
She stressed that the Land Rights Bill and the Daily Wager Regularisation Bill are crucial to protect local residents and workers.
“The leases of many hotels in Kashmir are under threat. Hotel owners who have operated for decades are being told their leases will be terminated and auctioned,” she said. She added, “The main issue after the removal of Article 370 was protecting Jammu and Kashmir’s land, and the recent actions undermine that purpose.”
On steps taken by her party, Mehbooba said, “We have introduced a bill in the Assembly to regularise ownership of houses, shops, and hotels for locals. Poor people with houses and shops should get ownership. Similarly, hotels run for generations should not be taken away from local owners.”
Regarding support from the National Conference, she added, “I spoke to Dr. Farooq Abdullah to help us pass our bill. The National Conference has a majority in the Assembly. When I presented the bill, it was called ‘Land Jihad’ by some, but we hope it will be supported.”
On Assembly voting, Mehbooba said the PDP will back NC candidate Shammi Oberoi as a third preference to prevent BJP gains. “We are giving our three votes to the NC’s third candidate. This is to ensure that if the BJP wins the fourth seat, blame is not placed on us,” she explained.
Addressing the Daily Wager Bill, Mehbooba said, “Workers in various departments, including PHE, R&B, Irrigation, Health, and Education, have been working for 20 to 25 years without proper pay. Their services should be regularised, and our bill will address that.”
She concluded by urging the National Conference to ensure the passage of both bills in the Assembly to safeguard the interests of locals and daily wage workers. (KNC)
