Srinagar, Sep 19: Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma on Saturday called for dissolution of the Assembly, questioning the continuation of the present government if it cannot address basic issues facing the people.
Addressing reporters after a public interaction programme in Srinagar, Sharma said the programme was aimed at listening to people's grievances and was not a political or party meeting.
He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were facing confusion and frustration over issues ranging from basic infrastructure and public services to unemployment, while, according to him, the government was repeatedly citing the absence of statehood as a limitation.
"Where we had to connect pipes, where we needed poles and wires, where we needed staff in schools, where we needed doctors and paramedics in hospitals, where we had to fill potholes on the roads, we got only one answer to every problem. There is no statehood," Sharma said.
He questioned the rationale of continuing with the present setup if every problem was being attributed to the absence of statehood.
"If at the end of two years, we say that you need statehood to connect poles, wires and pipes, you need statehood to provide staff, you need statehood to answer every problem, then why are we in the government? Why are we in the Assembly?" he asked.
LoP Sharma said the government should consider dissolving the Assembly.
"And it is possible, I am not a legal expert, that whenever the statehood comes, it is possible because there will be a new constitutional arrangement. It is possible that you will have to go to the elections again," he said. " So, do we have to forcefully answer the people to stay until the elections or do we have to decide that we have to do some work? "
He also said that, as Leader of Opposition, he had decided that the BJP legislative group would act as a bridge between the people and the Government of India on issues that require intervention at the Centre.
The senior BJP leader said the opposition would raise public grievances during the upcoming Assembly session, particularly unemployment and issues concerning outsourced and temporary workers.
Referring to the government's promise of providing one lakh jobs, Sharma alleged that instead of creating regular employment, various categories of workers were being engaged through outsourcing.
He said employees from different departments and schemes, including NHM, GRS, technical assistants and daily wagers, had approached him seeking regularisation.
Sharma also criticised the government over what he described as an attempt to function simultaneously as the government and the opposition.
"When the government also enjoys all its privileges, and plays the role of the opposition, then this is a misfortune for the people," he said.
On his earlier remarks about creating a parallel government, Sharma clarified that he did not mean assuming the powers of the Chief Minister.
He said the term referred to the opposition directly engaging with people and taking up their grievances.
He also criticised the government's emphasis on restoration of statehood, arguing that many day-to-day issues could be addressed under the powers already available to the administration.
Sharma said the BJP would raise the concerns gathered during the public interaction programme in the forthcoming Assembly session and seek accountability from the government.
He maintained that the objective of the exercise was to listen to people's problems and take them to the appropriate authorities for resolution.