Jammu: India’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Saturday Azad accused opposition People’s Democratic Party of contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections “only to give indirect benefit to BJP in these elections in Jammu region.”
“PDP candidates are not going to win elections but they are in the fray only to divide secular votes to help divisive forces like BJP for political gains,” said Azad while addressing public meetings in border districts Poonch and Rajouri here.
Saying that Congress is contesting Lok Sabha elections on development plank, Azad said that during its regime Congress had proved how to deliver good governance to the people. He said it was during his tenure that sincere efforts were made to complete work on Mughal Road. He said the dream of making Mughal Road functional was fulfilled only during the regime of Congress-led government in the state.”As a Chief Minister I had personally intervened to make it sure that this road should be made functional”, he said and mentioned that credit goes to Congress that vehicular movement on this historical road was started.
“The cross-LoC trade and travel are the only achievements for the people of Jammu and Kashmir since independence in their effort to end the siege around the state,” Azad said and added that time has come to take these relations to next level. “The trade and travel across the LoC shall not only be strengthened but a more effective mechanism should be established to curb any attempt to cause a setback to the process of reconciliation”, he said and assured that process of cross LoC trade would be made easier in the days to come.
He said that the LoC trade had a vast potential of growth and so had the travel between the two parts of the erstwhile state. He said the hassle free trade and travel could do a great extent neutralise the negative effects of Partition on J&K which was a hub of international trade before 1947 but has been reduced to dead end.

Reader correspondent