GOOD MORNING JAMMU: See your minister in his larger than life avtar at flyover near Super Specialty Hospital.
STATE TIMES REPORT
JAMMU: Newly appointed BJP ministers in Mehbooba Mufti led coalition government are yet to make their presence felt in their offices but their posters are already making them ‘visible’ on the streets and in their assembly constituencies. After getting inducted into the Council of Ministers, these ministers were greeted by king-size posters by their supporters and well wishers. Advertisements were published in local newspapers. Then surfaced different departmental posters with their larger than life images, super imposed on the posters and hoardings. Incidentally these ministers occupied same spots where their predecessors used to raise posters. Supporters of Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta, Health Minister D. K Manyal and Housing and Urban Development Minister Sat Pal Sharma have already covered major spots across Jammu city to welcome them, greet them and congratulate them on joining the ministries. But when it comes to making their presence felt in their offices or opening camp offices inside the Civil Secretariat in Jammu these ministers have failed on the lines of their predecessors. The common people of Jammu continue to struggle for round the clock power supply, regular drinking water and better road conditions. A large number of people continue to hold protest demonstrations in their respective areas highlighting the scarcity of basic amenities in their residential areas.
Display of larger than life size hoardings of ministers is not only brazen waste of the tax-payers hard earned money but also violation of the standing court orders, banning advertisements of politicians holdings public offices. In a historic and landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on May 13, 2015 had held that taxpayers’ money cannot be spent to build “personality cults” of political leaders and restrained ruling parties from publishing photographs of political leaders or prominent persons in government-funded advertisements. Ironically, the embarrassing pomp and show is being shamelessly displayed by the BJP Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir , who day in and day out espouse the high values and public propriety being set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but do reverse of it on ground. Sadly, while Narendra Modi portrays himself as the Chief Sevak of the country, his party’s first time–and probably the last time– ministers are ruthlessly wasting public money on their own cut-outs, which interest none except their family members and sycophants.
On his part, new Power Minister Sunil Kumar Sharma is attending review meetings and setting deadlines for engineers to streamline and ensure 24×7 power supply to residents of Jammu. Similarly, Health Minister Dr D. K Manyal is continuously touring and spending most of the time outside the office attending different functions. Former State party Chief and minister Sat Pal Sharma is yet to review pace of important projects of his ministry in Jammu. Smart City project, which is touted as flagship project is yet to take off. He made a visit to construction sites of some of the projects but residents of Jammu are keenly awaiting completion of Artificial Tawi Lake project, development of Tawi River Front on the pattern of Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, etc. Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta is yet to show his presence and hold meeting of all key functionaries of Jammu division to share his vision of development of Jammu region and carrying forward the work done by his predecessor in office.
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© 2017 State Times Daily Newspaper
