An eight-member National Conference (NC) delegation on Tuesday met Lt Governor Manoj Sinha here and drew his attention to alleged attempts being made to mutilate the mandate of the people by encouraging horse-trading of the recently elected district development council (DDC) members, the party said.

The NC stressed the crucial need for ensuring neutrality and impartiality of the administration in establishment of DDCs and said this is imperative for respecting the mandate and upholding people’s faith in the grass-roots level democratic institutions which hold promise for transforming rural landscape in Jammu and Kashmir.

The delegation was by led by party’s Jammu provincial president Devender Singh Rana and included former ministers Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Surjeet Singh Slathia, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari and former legislators Javed Rana, S Tarlochan Singh Wazir, Rattan Lal Gupta and Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, the party said in a statement here.

“Peoples’ mandate has to be respected,” the delegation said, adding that this is actually the message sent out by the electors, loud and clear.

They lauded the efforts of the L-G in ensuring peaceful conduct of the polls and said the promise of upholding democratic values has to be kept by foiling the machinations of reversing the will of the people. “This is imperative for the larger interests of democracy”, the senior leaders said.

They also referred to the impressive turn-out in elections despite weather vagaries and said this reflects people’s unflinching faith in democracy and the democratic institutions.

The delegation also expressed concern over the Laweypora incident and brutal assassination of goldsmith Satpal Nischal in Srinagar city and sought judicial probe into these incidents. They called for measures to instil sense of security and trust among the people.

Sinha assured the delegation that the administration will play a non-partisan role in the establishment of the DDCs. He also assured transparent and fair conduct of enquiry in the two incidents referred by the NC delegation.

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