JKNPP leader joins Azad-led DPAP in Jammu

JAMMU: National Panthers Party (NPP) leader Anita Thakur on Wednesday joined the Ghulam Nabi Azad led Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) here.

The 55-year-old general secretary of the NPP was welcomed into the party fold by Azad along with other senior party leaders.

“We welcome Thakur into DPAP. She is an experienced politician having served NP for decades together under the leadership of Prof Bhim Singh who was a secular and a powerful opposition leader,” Azad said.

He said her joining DPAP will further strengthen the party at the grass-roots level.

“DPAP is based on ‘Haq aur Insaaf’ (right and justice) and talks about secularism and brotherhood. This was the same ideology propagated by Singh throughout his life and it was the reason for my joining the party,” Thakur told PTI.

She said Jammu and Kashmir is going through a difficult phase, especially after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

“Our 200-year-old state was downgraded to a UT and we have to strengthen leaders like Azad to fight for restoration of our rights and reunite J&K and Ladakh,” Thakur said, adding Azad is a ray of hope for the people suffering due to unemployment, job scams, eviction drive and “failure”‘ of the administration to address issues of daily wagers, casual labourers and other workers who are always on roads in support of their demands.

Earlier, Azad expressed displeasure over reports that the J&K administration is planning a fresh anti-encroachment drive to retrieve stand land.

“We do not support the anti-encroachment drive as the land in question is under occupation of the people for the last seven decades. In the rest of the country, the state governments are regularising such colonies but here they are depriving the people of their land which is unjust,” Azad said.

He appealed to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha not to go ahead with the anti-encroachment drive as it “spreads chaos”.

“There is no justification for such a drive,” the DPAP chairman said.