Opposition to farm laws has not found traction among J-K farmers: Zafar Islam

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 17

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Syed Zafar Islam on Thursday said that the opposition to the farm laws has not found traction among the electorates of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir during the campaign for the ongoing DDC elections.

The farm laws are at the eye of the storm in various other parts of the country.

Islam, who is among the Rajya Sabha MPs drafted by the BJP for the election campaign in the UT, especially in Kashmir, said the focus of the people was on progress and development, which was the BJP's core election plank.

The other BJP MPs of the Upper House of Parliament include Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Surendra Nagar, a Gujjar leader.

"Going by the response of the people, including farmers, the party will surprise its detractors by the DDC election results," Zafar Islam, a former high profile international investment banker and largely considered to be BJP's modern Muslim face, said.

He said that the central welfare schemes, like Kisan Samman Nidhi, crop insurance scheme, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Ujjawala, and construction of toilets, have started reaching the people.

The farming community has shown a penchant for crop diversification and value-addition to crops, which is "NDA government's thrust area".

He said people of the UT have faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "They are inspired by the Prime Minister."

When asked of reports of misgivings among sections of the population towards due to the alleged tardy pace of development even after the abrogation of Article 370, he defended the government.

He attributed the negative feeling among a section of the people towards the BJP to smear campaign of its opponents.

"The NC and the PDP, which are part of Peoples' Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), have been in power in J and K for a major part of the past 70 years."

"They have perpetuated canards against India and the BJP with vested interests to keep the masses away from the main stream."

"The moot question is who is responsible for keeping a larger section of the people poor for all these years, and what was the ulterior motive behind this conspiracy," Zafar Islam said.

He said that UT's youth are aspirational. The BJP poll manifesto to provide, among others, more than 70,000 jobs, fillip to industrialisation, and empowerment of women has been well received.

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