Last Updated on November 6, 2023 at 5:58 pm
Making a clarion call for a decisive battle for the legitimate rights of Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) Displaced Persons, S. O. S. International Chairman Rajiv Chuni today asked the BJP government to fulfill all genuine demands of the displaced before the Lok Sabha elections.
“Every political party has betrayed and disappointed the displaced people of PoJK. They used them as vote bank in elections only. It is high time for all of us to take decisive call and fight unitedly to get our legitimate demands fulfilled. You (PoJK) displaced persons have the power of vote and we should not make any wrong decision while exercising this right,” Mr Chuni said while interacting with a massive gathering of the displaced people of PoJK at Nowshera city.
The S. O. S. International chairman said the PoJK DPs have never given due importance because they (displaced people) were not united. “The opportunist politicians used PoJK displaced community for their petty interests because we are not united. Our struggle for a dignified life and fulfillment of all our legitimate rights can yield desired results only if we remain united and take decisions collectively,” Mr Chuni said while making a fervent appeal for a decisive fight ahead of Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in April-May next year.
“It is an appropriate time to send a strong message across the political platforms that our struggle is genuine and legitimate. We will have to take a collective decision of boycotting the elections or voting in favour of a particular party to ensure that our voice is heard at the highest level,” the senior refugee leader said, adding “we will have to think and take a call as to who have delivered justice to our hapless people”.
The senior refugee leader said, “We will have to take a decisive call before the elections. If the Centre is ready to concede our five major demands including Rs 25 lakh to all PoJK displaced families as approved by the then state government, issue a notification for reservation in professional technical institutes of the country for our youth, announce a job package for educated unemployed youth of displaced persons, announce reservation of eight seats in J&K legislative assembly for PoJK refugees and grant Pahari status to all PoJK displaced community members, we will decide and overwhelmingly vote in their (BJP) favour. Otherwise, we will not allow anyone to cheat our innocent people this time”.
He made a fervent appeal to all the members of PoJK DPs that they should get betrayed by the false promises of the politicians from the ruling class and they should be asked to fulfill their commitments before seeking votes in their favour.
“We should bear in mind that we don’t fall in the agenda of any political party–be it regional or national political group. All successive governments ignored us and our aspirations while they focused only on their political ambitions. Had the successive governments delivered justice to our people and given them suitable political reservation, the situation on ground would have been quite different today. Our people have been passing through mental trauma because they were not empowered politically,” he said.
Asking the PoJK refugees to get united and join the platform of the S. O. S. International for a decisive struggle, Mr Chuni said he has always worked for the welfare and betterment of displaced people and whatever has been achieved for PoJK community, it was the long struggle of the S. O. S. International organization.
The refugee leader also struck an emotional chord with the displaced people staying in Nowshera, saying they (S. O. S. International) were connected with them since long though they could not meet them because of various reasons including Covid pandemic.
“You people are witness to our long struggle for the constitutional rights of displaced people from PoJK. We should remember that whatever we will achieve, it will be realized through hard struggle. The successive regimes tried to suppress our voice by registering cases against us and putting us behind the bars but it did not deter us from fighting for our people. For the last three decades, I have never thought of joining politics or any political party because our mission is the well-being of our people and deliver justice to them,” Mr Chuni said.
Dr. Daleep Choudhary conducts the stage proceedings, others who addressed the gathering includes VK Datta, Adv Rajinder Sharma, Ved Raj Bali, Ashok Sharma, Daleep Chib, Sushil Sharma, Jagjit Singh, Adv Rishav Sharma, Bindu Choudhary Sarpanch and others
