Gadigarh (Jammu): Accusing the National Conference (NC) and BJP governments of failing to bring normalcy in the state, former Union Minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh on September 18 said his party, if voted to power, would bring about lasting peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.

"There is an urgent need to give a healing touch to the people of state, so that they will forget about a decade-long turmoil and under-development in J&K by a friendly government at the state level," Singh told a gathering in the Sikh dominated Gadigarh-Chatta belt, part of Gandhinagar Assembly constituency, where Congress has put up its nominee.

After holding Assembly elections in 1996 with massive people's participation, the ruling National Conference along with BJP-led NDA government at the Centre had failed to give a healing touch to people and bring them out of the uncertain situation, he alleged.

Instead, Congress set up their own governments after people of former militancy- infested states of Punjab, Mizorum, Meghalaya, Assam and some other states voted the party to "establish Democracy", he said.

Singh said all these states have now returned to peace and the militancy has completely been eradicated.

However, in J&K, the NC government had virtually forced the state into further uncertainty while the Pakistan-sponsored militancy was on the rise, he said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who was also campaigning for the party candidate, Raman Bhalla charged BJP and RSS with dividing the state on communal lines.

PTI