Jammu: A large number of refugees from West Pakistan on Tuesday held a demonstration in Jammu demanding that they be accorded citizenship of the State. "We have been suffering for several decades now. We have become strangers in our own homes," said Sham Lal, a refugee from West Pakistan.
"We are addressed as refugees in our own country," he said. The protesting refugees said they that BJP had promised them citizenship rights before the assembly elections in the state.
"Now if they give upon this issue just to form a government with PDP, we will be left with no other option but to take to the streets," Sewak Ram, another protesting refugee said.
Granting citizenship rights to the refugees from West Pakistan was one of the main poll planks of the BJP that won 25 seats in the recently held assembly polls. "While BJP has been supporting granting of citizenship rights to the West Pakistan refugees, the PDP has opposed any such move. Now we need to see when these two parties form government in the state what stand they take on our demand," Ram said.
Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh had said that their party's stand on the issue was known to everyone and there was no change in it.
Comments
0 comment