Jammu, October 23: Former Union minister and veteran BJP leader Prof Chaman Lal Gupta today said many problems being faced by the people of the state and rest of India were results of the wrongs committed by ruling Congress leaders many years ago.
In a statement issued on the eve of the 133rd birth anniversary of former Praja Parishad and Jan Sangh leader Pandit Prem Nath Dogra, former Union minister recalled that in the sixties when the Congress was ruling the state and Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah supported Kashmir Plebiscite Front, both parties were engaged in a battle for supremacy in Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah had given a call of Tark-e-Mawalat (social boycott) by terming the Congressmen as “insects of dirty lanes.”
“To belittle Sheikh Abdullah, the Congress rulers had indulged in pampering his traditional adversaries of Muslim Conference. They also favoured the emergence of Jamat-e-Islami of Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani and his likes,” he alleged.
Paying tributes to the former Jan Sangh leader, Gupta said Dogra was a great soul and set an example by selfless service to society.
Dogra was a great patriot who played a memorable role in shaping many things, especially in making Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India. Moreover, he was a great visionary and had warned the ruling leaders of dangers enshrined in fundamentalism over 50 years ago now, he said.
He further said Dogra was a crusader against evils, including untouchability, drinking, child marriage and dowry. His greatest struggle was to bring the state at par with other parts of the country. “To achieve this goal, he was put in jails and faced other hardships. Due to his efforts, many barriers between the state and rest of India came to an end but still much needs to be done to fulfil his mission,” he said.
