Vikramaditya Singh quits PDP, set to resign as MLC
JAMMU: Senior leader of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Vikramaditya Singh on Sunday announced his resignation from the outfit, saying it was not possible for him to continue with the party, which “disregarded the demands and aspirations of Jammu region”.
Singh said he would also resign from the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council. The grandson of last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh sought “urgent intervention” of the Centre in addressing regional issues and claimed that the people of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir regions were “not happy” with the present dispensation. Singh had joined the PDP on August 2015.
“I have sent my resignation to party president Mehbooba Mufti with a request to accept it immediately. I feel it is neither morally nor ethically right for me to continue as a PDP member and as an MLC,” he told reporters here.
“I have also decided to resign from the Legislative Council where I was nominated to by the Governor.
I shall write to the chairman of the council requesting him to accept my resignation,” Singh, the son of Congress leader Karan Singh, said.
Accusing the PDP of criticising him every time he raised any issue related to Jammu region, Singh claimed, “I have publicly expressed my concerns for our state in general and Jammu in particular over the last several months but the party has rejected those.”
According to him, the issues included illegal settlement of Rohingyas and demand for a public holiday on the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh.
“It is no longer possible for me to be a part of a party that continues to disregard the demand and aspirations of Jammu region,” he said in his resignation letter.
“Who is happy (with the present dispensation) in J&K... all the three regions are pulling in different directions – Jammu is demanding complete integration, Ladakhis favour Union territory and Kashmiris are looking for a solution.
They too are our own people. Where is the meeting point and the integrity of the state under the prevailing circumstances? Indian government should take urgent steps,” Singh said.