Srinagar, Sep 29: The BJP’s opposition to a bill on the salaries of MLAs and ministers in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is a collective party decision and not an individual stand, senior party leader Sham Lal Sharma said on Tuesday, asserting that the BJP follows the principle of “Nation first, party second and self third”.
Sharma, the BJP MLA from Akhnoor, said his stance in the Assembly reflected the collective position of his party and its MPs, and not a personal opinion.
“This was the decision of all my MPs and my party. They chose me for this, that we do not agree with this bill,” Sharma told reporters outside the Legislative Assembly here.
He said he placed the concerns of his party and its MPs on the “Sadan’s pedestal” as they pertain to the fundamental rights of a large section of people in Kashmir who, he claimed, have been on the roads for the past 25 years.
The BJP leader listed daily wagers, daily-rated workers, need-based workers, casual labourers, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and helpers as some of the deprived sections whose issues, he said, should be addressed first.
“There are people from CAMPA, Rehbar-e-Zaraat and Rehbar-e-Khel. So there are so many deprived sections. First we should address their issue,” he said.
Stating that the BJP has taken a firm resolve in the Assembly, MLA Sharma said, “We follow the principle of ‘Nation first, party second and self third’.”
Asked about allegations that the BJP would do politics over the issue, he said, “Tell me, who does not do politics? We do politics of truth.”
Targeting the National Conference, MLA Sharma said it has been doing “politics of youth” for the past 70 years and should answer those with whom it made commitments.
“They first said it will be pre-1953. They will bring in 370. And then they have promised 70 in their election manifesto,” he said.
Referring to the promises made to government employees, he asked, “Do you remember your salary? Do you remember to increase your wages? So why don’t you do justice to those daily wagers?”
MLA Sharma said the first Cabinet’s agenda would be to regularise daily wagers and fill 70,000 posts in 180 days.
Noting that about 40 per cent posts are vacant in the Health department and more than 31 per cent in the Education department, he said, “This is the basic foundation of our nation. To pay their salaries, they say they don’t have money.”
“Our priority is that we have come here for the people. We have come for the service of the people. We are the servants of the people. We have not come here for (luxury),” he said.
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