Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that the government’s aim is to give pace to the development of Jammu and Kashmir without any discrimination.

Sinha was speaking at a function organised by the administration to honour representatives of local bodies of Jammu and Kashmir for their good work in governance and also Covid-19 warriors for their efforts in handling the pandemic.

“The development of Jammu and Kashmir should be lent pace without any discrimination and this is one of our commitments. This has been reiterated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our aim is not to do politics but it is to integrate the soul of Jammu and Kashmir with the country,” Sinha said.

Stating that democracy has strengthened in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “I expect that the Central government would take a decision regarding the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure soon. Transparency in governance is expected. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee talked of ‘jamhooriyat, insaniyat and Kashmiriyat. The entire country is looking at Jammu and Kashmir with hope,” he said.

The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir appealed to the local body representative to buckle up in their duty to address the challenges arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I appeal to you to raise awareness about Covid-19 among people to ward off this crisis. Our belief is that the welfare of the poor is much more important than following any religion of the world,” he said.

He recited a couplet of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, urging people to commit themselves to their duties and progress forward.