Jammu:Asking people of Jammu to come out in large numbers to vote, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said this election offers a historic opportunity for them to undo the “injustice” of over the years by successive governments in the state.
Addressing a public rally in Channi, near here, ahead of the last phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, the senior BJP leader said they should elect such a government which will give an an effective say to the people of the region.
“This election will script history for the people of Jammu region, where such a government is elected which has an effective say of this region. “People of the region should come out in large numbers to vote… Time has come for the people of Jammu to fight for their rights and only BJP can fight for them,” he said, adding that his party would work for their interests if they elected BJP to power.
Seeking a mandate in favour of BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, Jaitley said that conventional poll arithmetic in the state would not work in this election, maintaining the ground chemistry has changed.
“When there is a change in the ground chemistry, the conventional arithmetic does not work. I have said this in Lok Sabha election and say the same for this Jammu and Kashmir election also,” he said . Citing the example of various parties which earlier contested polls on caste lines, he said all such parties faced a drubbing in Lok Sabha election.
Taking a dig at Congress, Jaitley said, “I am certain that in this election, for Congress to reach double figures is impossible.” In Channi near here, Jaitley attacked Congress saying it has not taken care of the interests of Jammu and their strategy has been to just get into government with either National Conference or PDP, whichever wins in the Valley. He rued that the people of Jammu feel that injustice has been done to them in allocations in the state’s budget, jobs and development.
“They feel they have been treated like second-class citizens in their own state,” he said, adding that the people of the region have to evolve Jammu’s leadership in the state’s politics. Citing the example of Maharashtra and Haryana, where BJP was a junior partner previously, Jaitley said it has formed governments of its own in the two states after the public at large came out in support of Narendra Modi’s leadership.(PTI)