Empowering VDGs financially will boost security grid in J&K: Sunil, lauds PM, Union Home Ministry, LG for revival of VDCs

The BJP leaders in the state and at the National level, particularly Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani launched Doda Bachao Andolan and raised voice for the constitution of VDCs in 90s. Their struggle culminated into coming up of VDCs in all the 10 Districts of Jammu Province with Arms to counter terrorism.

BY RED STAFF 

Revival of Village Defence Committees (VDCs), renaming them as Village Defence Groups (VDGs) and considering other genuine demands, including financial empowerment, will boost security grid in Jammu & Kashmir. This was stated by Sunil Sharma, former Minister & General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party, while addressing media persons at party headquarter, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.

Flanked by J&K BJP Spokesperson Balbir Ram Rattan, BJP Media Secretary Dr. Pardeep Mahotra and BJP Social Media Incharge Ankit Gupta, Sunil Sharma said that there was a time when terrorism was at its peak and innocent people were being killed mercilessly. The people from hilly and far flung areas were migrating to safer places due to threats to their lives. The BJP leaders in the state and at the National level, particularly Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani launched Doda Bachao Andolan and raised voice for the constitution of VDCs in 90s. Their struggle culminated into coming up of VDCs in all the 10 Districts of Jammu Province with Arms to counter terrorism.

“Once a terrorist admitted in an interview of being most scared of the VDCs”, Sunil Sharma said.

The BJP leader shared that despite the important role played by VDCs, their salary distribution system was not streamlined as the salary from SPOs were distributed among all the members. He further said that 2 years back, SPOs got the order from Court as a result of which they were not bound to distribute salary and so the remaining members of VDCs were left without any salary. Till now many VDCs have been non functional or disbanded. Many VDC members have submitted their resignations and deposited weapons. They did so to be enrolled for availing the benefits under BPL category.

Sharma informed that J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina had been consistently taking up the cause of VDCs at different levels and he himself was regularly monitoring the whole issue. He said that now the Union Home Ministry has finally revived the VDCs into VDGs, which will go a long way in meeting the genuine demands of their members, who will now be enrolled as Village Defence Guards under new policy, thus entitled for One Rank and equal salary to be directly transferred into their accounts. He also stressed on the need to equip them with modern weapons for giving a befitting reply to any terrorist attack in future.

Sharma expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, LG Manoj Sinha and DGP Dilbagh Singh for their role in helping the VDCs to be revived. He expressed hope that the other pending issues will also be resolved at the earliest.