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As assembly elections near, J&K Sikh outfit slams BJP for ‘betrayal’
Sikh Progressive Front president Balvinder Singh urges people to vote responsibly for those who address the Sikh community’s demands, including making Punjabi one of the official languages of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Sikh Progressive Front (SPF), a socio-religious organisation, has urged community members in Jammu and Kashmir to vote responsibly in the coming assembly elections and not to fall prey to empty promises.
Addressing mediapersons in Jammu on Wednesday, SPF president Balvinder Singh said: “Cast your vote wisely and responsibly for those who address the Sikh community’s demands, including making Punjabi one of the official languages of J&K.”
He said: “Sikh delegations met the PDP-BJP coalition government from time to time with their demands but nothing was done. In the past four years, we have been meeting lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, but he expresses his inability, putting the ball in the Centre’s court. The fact is that even today, posts of Punjabi language teachers are vacant in colleges.”
Balvinder Singh said that the BJP-led Centre had provided reservation to communities, such as Gujjars, Paharis and Kashmiri Pandits, and taken initiatives to bring West Pakistan refugees and PoJK refugees into the mainstream. “If the children of Kashmiri migrants can get benefits then why can’t Sikh children from Kashmir also get the same? We had also demanded OBC status to Sikhs of Kashmir but nothing was done,” he said.
“We will vote for the party that promises political representation to the Sikhs,” he said.
“While the file on full compensation to 14 Sikhs killed in the 1989 riots in Jammu gathered dust over the years, a party is now including the issue in its manifesto. May I ask them who they are trying to fool?” he said.
According to the 2021 census, the Sikh population in J&K was 2,34,848.
