Srinagar, Feb 07: All India Professional Congress (AIPC) Jammu & Kashmir Head, Sanjay Sapru, on Saturday took on the growing controversy around Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks on healthcare, calling out what he described as a “deliberate attempt to twist a clear policy position into a regional flashpoint”.
Sapru, in a statement issued here, said the uproar, centred on claims that corporate hospitals have been encouraged in Kashmir while Jammu remains neglected, is being used by certain groups to push a divisive narrative rather than engage with facts.
He asserted that Omar Abdullah neither spoke against Jammu nor opposed private or corporate healthcare investment, contrary to how his remarks have been projected.
Commenting on CM’s stand, Sapru said that the government’s priority should rightfully be in the direction of strengthening and upgrading of public healthcare infrastructure across Jammu & Kashmir.
“The policy of welcoming corporate healthcare chains to invest in the Union Territory, while refusing to ‘go begging at anyone’s door’ to lure them, is reasonable, straightforward and leaves no room for ambiguity,” he said.
Taking direct aim at critics, Sapru accused them of either willfully misunderstanding the statement or deliberately distorting it out of regional bias and envy.
Invoking the Kashmiri expression “peter hasad”, he targeted what he called the self-styled “Jammu Jammu” gang, accusing them of thriving on grievance politics and indulging in fanciful ideas such as “Kanak Mandi” being projected as a future capital.
Sapru pointed out that governement’s approach is justified if it is focusing on expanding government-run hospitals, introducing NICU and IVF facilities and strengthening cancer care services across the Union Territory.
“For a common man, the real issue should be ensuring accessible and affordable healthcare for people in both Jammu and Kashmir provinces and not manufacturing regional fault lines for political mileage as done by some malafide persons,” he concluded.
