Jammu: Terming youth as the vehicle of change and main source of success, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti Saturday called upon the young population to use their energies, potential in shaping a new political order in Jammu & Kashmir which shall be based on truth and honesty.

According to a statement issued to KNS, addressing a one day youth convention of PDP youth wing at the party headquarters, organized by Vice President Rajender Manhas , Mehbooba said historically it has been the youth which were responsible for bringing social and political revolutions in different societies across the world. She said our youth have all the talent, potential to change the entire outlook of the state which shall guarantee a system where every section of the society will feel empowered enough, but they need to be given chance in the system to find their worth. She said, unfortunately, the youth have become the main victim of post independence political victimization and state repression, with the result they couldn’t realize their real talent, and it is the PDP’s vision to involve them in governance system to establish an honest and accountable structure in J&K.

Mehbooba said the ruling dispensation has miserably failed to address the genuine grievances of the youth with the result they are feeling disillusioned with the system. She said there was an immediate need to understand the anger, frustration of youth and instead of doing that the NC-led government created a system which is fully loaded against them.  Referring to the BOPEE scam, she said the tainted person; Mustaq Peer was given extensions after extension, by the government, besides serious charges of corruption and other malpractices pending against him both at the Kashmir University, where he (Peer) has served earlier and at the BOPEE. She said not only this the government has re-employed more than 400 corrupt bureaucrats with  a monthly salary of millions of rupees, and the educated youth is asked to work for 3000 Rs/per, which is quite humiliating and insulting.   She said youth need meaningful, respectable job avenues and the PDP, with the help of renowned subject experts, has formulated a comprehensive youth empowerment plan which shall take care of their every need.

She said keeping in view the intellect and level of education, the youth of the state deserved much better, but the government has badly failed to do anything concrete for their future advancements. She said the so-called employment policy of the government has failed to yield the desired results with the result the unemployment ratio has considerably increased in the state. “The ‘employment and welfare policy’ is cruel joke with the educated unemployed youth of the state,” she said.

Castigating the government for betraying unemployed educated youth, Mehbooba regretted that during the last five years the government has brazenly auctioned government jobs to deprive meritorious and deserving candidates and to adjust only undeserving candidates in lieu of money. “Only noticeable achievement of NC-led government is auctioning government jobs in open market and re-employment of the retired officers”, she said

Mehbooba said during PD-led government recruitment process was institutionalized to ensure accountability and transparency. She mentioned that more than 80,000 Rehbar-e-Talim (ReT) teachers were appointed. Similarly more than 40000 Anganwari workers were also appointed but not even a single case of favouritism and nepotism was highlighted during the selection processes. “We institutionalized the recruitment process to ensure that only deserving and meritorious candidate should be recruited”, she said.

She said that all promises made by the NC during the last assembly elections remained only on papers. “Instead of fulfilling the commitments made to the people during 2008 assembly elections, this government has been deceiving the people by making false statements”, she said.

Speaking on the occasion Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, in charge of the party’s youth wing said that youth have been the main target of the present regime and time has now come to change the present system which can ensure a level playing field for all particularly the youth. He said during last five years, the government has been on a mission to demoralize the human resource by way of suppression and corruption in the system with the result the youth have been pushed to the wall and were not able to seek better lives for themselves.

Waheed said PDP is the only party in the state, having a complete youth policy which, besides other things, calls for end to the systematic exploitation of young population and guarantees respectable opportunities for them where they can realise their creative potential and play their role in making the structure accountable, transparent and people friendly. He said youth have an important role to change the political, governance narrative and this year gives them an opportunity to rewrite a new history for the state, where they can live without anyone suspecting them.

Calling for a decisive mandate for PDP, he said it is the party’s vision to get respectable settlement of the political problems and bring the state back on rails. Vice President Rajinder Singh Manhas said that the educated youth are the worst victims of wrong policies being propagated Omar Abdullah. Flaying the government for the ‘new recruitment policy’ he said the government has put enormous dent on the future of youth by bringing such a rotten and ruthless policy. Gurdeep Singh Pandey, Abhijeet Singh Jasrotia, Varinder Singh Sonu and others also addressed the youth. (KNS)