BJP leader demands fresh socioeconomic survey in J-K

There should be a fresh socioeconomic survey in Jammu and Kashmir for the welfare of members of schedule caste communities, a senior BJP leader said on Sunday, claiming that they were living in "sub standard conditions".

BJP state SC morcha president Jagdish Bhagat also claimed that the existing socioeconomic survey, which was conducted in 2011, was inexact.

"The fresh socioeconomic survey should be conducted as it is a must for improving the living conditions of members of the SC community who are living in sub-standard conditions," he said at a meeting at the BJP headquarters here.

Bhagat also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for early implementation of laws favouring schedule caste (SC) communities in Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will come into being on October 31.

Hailing the Centre for scrapping the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into the two Union territories, he said people belonging to the SC community are victims of Article 370 that proved a major hurdle in their overall development.

Bhagat also demanded political reservation in accordance with the SC population in the Union territories.

BJP state spokesperson Brig (retired) Anil Gupta alleged that "power brokers in Kashmir" resorted to "violation of rights, exploitation of people and resources, blatant discrimination and rampant corruption" under the garb of the article.