Warning that the ongoing anti-encroachment drive by the government in Jammu and Kashmir can revive stone-pelting and strike culture in the Union Territory (UT), Democratic Azad Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday claimed the administration has done itself more harm by launching this drive.
“At a time when the anger against the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and 35A was starting to abate, and militancy, as well as strikes and stone-pelting, had been largely contained, the government, instead of drawing the benefits of these positive outcomes, has brought harm to itself by launching the anti-encroachment drive,” he told reporters in Jammu.
Azad, a former chief minister of J&K, alleged the eviction drive has resulted in corruption “as people were paying bribes to revenue officials to ensure their names do not feature among those who have encroached on state land.”
He said the government should not do anything which will end up spreading ‘negativity as lakhs of people have been served notices asking them to vacate their homes and wind up their businesses.’
The DAP chief said the government should take a decision immediately in the interest of peace and issue an order to put an end to the eviction drive against the poor.
Thousands of acres of state land has been retrieved by the administration across the UT in recent weeks, while hundreds of structures built on the encroached land have been demolished. Some of the encroachers from whom the land has been retrieved include former ministers, bureaucrats and prominent businessmen.
The drive has snowballed into a major controversy, with opposition parties accusing the BJP government of targeting the poor and political opponents. The bulldozer action across the region has triggered protests at several places, as the administration declared land cultivated and inhabited by people for generations as illegal encroachment.
However, Azad said anyone who has done wrong, whether he is associated with the BJP Congress, NC, PDP or Apni Party, should face the law, if he has done wrong.