President of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference and MLA Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone, on Thursday strongly criticised the National Conference-led government, calling its rule a “saga of betrayal” and saying that 2025 has clearly been exposed as a “year of lies”.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
Addressing a press conference in Handwara, Lone, along with senior party leader and Chief Spokesperson Bashir Ahmed Dar and other party leaders, accused the government of making false claims about governance. He said the administration has delivered one of the most cruel and ineffective rules in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.
Lone said the government’s major election promises were nothing but deliberate deception. He pointed out that instead of providing free 200 units of electricity, people in non-metered areas are now facing a 50 per cent increase in power tariffs.
He further said the promise of 12 free gas cylinders has disappeared, while the pledge of providing one lakh jobs has turned into what he called a “big outsourcing scam”. According to Lone, permanent government jobs are being handed over to private companies, which is harming the youth.
The Peoples Conference chief also said governance has been reduced to a “transfer industry”, while basic public services continue to deteriorate.
Lone strongly criticised what he described as political vendetta against Government Medical College Handwara. He alleged that the institution is being deliberately neglected because it was approved during the Peoples Conference’s tenure.
He said it was shameful that while every other medical college in the Union Territory received an MRI machine, GMC Handwara was denied one simply because its MLA sits in the opposition. Lone said if the government continues to ignore the issue, he will arrange MRI and Cath Lab facilities through CSR funds. He added that the college has significantly improved the local economy and should not suffer due to political rivalry.
Echoing Lone’s views, Bashir Ahmed Dar said the last 15 months of the NC government have been a “burden of failures”. He dismissed the recent publicity around the ruling party’s Rajya Sabha nomination, calling it a distraction from poor governance.
Dar said a Rajya Sabha member has no direct role in district development and accused the government of creating posts only to reward loyalists, while ignoring real constituency work, which is the responsibility of MLAs. He added that the opposition had waited for the promised “new dawn” by December 31, but instead saw only symbolic events without real impact.
Lone also raised concerns over the current reservation policy, saying it is unfairly skewed. He claimed that 74 per cent of selections under the reserved quota are going to the Jammu region, leaving Kashmir with a very small share. He demanded restoration of District and Divisional cadres to correct the imbalance and urged politicians to stop misleading the public with false promises.
He also criticised Omar Abdullah for what he called silence over alleged harassment of Kashmiris outside the Union Territory. Lone said he expected the Chief Minister to intervene and speak up for the people.
Concluding the press conference, Lone referred to the history of the 1987 elections and warned the ruling party that the political situation has changed. He said the government is disconnected from the people and claimed it will not complete its full term due to growing public anger. He said the Peoples Conference will continue to expose the failures of the present government.
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