KL Report
SRINAGAR
Expressing satisfaction at the steady growth of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a platform for ‘change’ in Jammu & Kashmir, the party patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Monday, said the credit goes to the disciplined, dedicated and ideologically motivated cadre of the party and people living in all regions of the state.
In a foundation day message, the party patron, who founded PDP on July 28, 1999, along with some of his senior colleagues and the party president, Mehbooba Mufti, said the party has now emerged as a respectable voice from the state that channelizes the aspirations of the people across regions, religions and communities— representing the beautiful mosaic of the diversity of J&K, a party statement said on Tuesday.
“The people of the state look up to the youngest party—the PDP—with hope and expectations of filling up a representation gap that had almost been institutionalized in the state as a result of the monopoly of a single party,” the statement quoted Mufti as having said.
He said the agenda of the PDP could to a large extent respond to the complex problems of the state, faced as it is with decades’ long political uncertainty, development deficit, unfulfilled aspirations, mounting unemployment, corruption, nepotism and favouritism.
“The performance of the party in the recent Lok Sabha elections represents a watershed in the state’s political and democratic history it also come as a challenge to its leadership and cadres,” he said adding, “The Lok Sabha elections represented the crucial step forward in investing the electoral process in the state with much needed credibility and one can hope it serves to inspire the people to exercise their franchise more effectively in order to shape a new future for the state.”
Mufti said one of the major contributions of the PDP is to have introduced an element of accountability and political audit in the state. “The people now have a clear choice from among the parties who are in the field to seek their mandate. We hope that people would judge us on our performance during our brief stint in the government, in opposition and on the basis of the agenda of change that we placed before them,” he further added.
Meanwhile the party decided not to hold its foundation day celebrations in view of the happy coincidence of it falling in the festival season.
