National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday that providing food, water, and electricity to Rohingya refugees currently staying in Jammu and Kashmir is their responsibility.
“It was the government of India’s decision to bring them here, not ours. They have settled them here, and till they are here, we will fulfil our duty of being a representative and inclusive government based on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
Hitting out at the National Conference (NC) government over the recent remarks on granting water and electricity connections to Rohingya in Jammu, the BJP accused that it was done to protect them as they belonged to a particular community.
As per government records, there are approximately 13,700 foreigners, most of them Rohingyas (illegal immigrants from Myanmar) and Bangladeshi nationals, who are settled in Jammu and other districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Their population increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016.
At the same time, Abdullah also reiterated similar claims that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored, adding that the double-engine government (Sarkar) won't work in J&K and there will be only one power centre in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The double-engine government will not work here. Statehood will be restored. There will be only one power centre in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Abdullah addressed the issue of power cuts in the region, attributing them to a lack of rainfall and snowfall. “We are trying to minimise power cuts. There is a shortage of electricity because there has been no snowfall or rain. Efforts are being made to improve the power supply,” he said.
He added that the condition of healthcare and educational infrastructure in the region is poor and needs urgent improvement.
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