Karan Singh, last Sadr-e-Riyasat of JK, advocates free & fair assembly elections

Claiming that there is lack of communication between the public and the bureaucracy in Jammu and Kashmir veteran Congress leader Karan Singh on Tuesday advocated free and fair assembly elections to address the missing link by installing a popular governmentSingh son of the last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh also demanded restoration of the full statehood to the Union TerritoryTalking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here the former SadriRiyasat of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said there is no possibility of taking back Pakistanoccupied Kashmir PoK without a war which only brings death and destructionResponding to a question about the policies of BJPled Central government in JampK he said it the developments of 2019 when the Centre revoked Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territories was a very drastic step to remove the whole special structure and it has now been three years that JampK is under central administrationA lot of good things have happened and there is no doubt about it but what I gather is that there is a lack of communication between the public and the bureaucracy MLAs whether good or bad play an important role as they are intermediaries between people and the governmentAlso readTwo militants army man killed in gunfight in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama districtToday there are no MLAs and so there is a bureaucracy and they cannot listen to everyone It is not their job and that gap needs to be filled which can be done by holding free and fair elections to pave way for a popular government The popular government will be a link which is missing he saidAsked whether it is time to get back PoK he said reversing the time is not so easy and without a war it is not possible to get it back You know the consequences of a war which brings death and destructionHowever he said it is true that the areas under illegal occupation of the neighbouring countries are part of Jammu and Kashmir and if we get these areas back it is good But are we ready for a war China is also standing thereHe also advocated restoration of full statehood to Jammu and KashmirOn bifurcation of the erstwhile state he said I believe we have to look forward rather than going back which is not beneficialMy mantra is that I have always looked at the present and future I have seen a lot of things in my life and I have never been discouraged by events Time keeps changing and let us do something to make the world a better place he saidOur elders have given their blood to spread the borders of India to Gilgit and Ladakh he saidSingh also opposed forced conversions whether in India or Pakistan and said such things should not happen