Students unions today came out in support of Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma, whose name has been dragged in the spurious drugs scam, saying there was a deliberate attempt to malign his image.
"During his tenure as Health Minister, Sharma had introduced many people-friendly reforms, which were disliked by people with vested interests and propaganda was unleashed against the leader," president Rajouri-Poonch Students Union, Raqeel Ahmed Khan, told reporters during a joint press conference held alongside All Jammu and Kashmir Paramedical Students Association here.
Khan said the propaganda was aimed to counter Sharma whose popularity as a leader was growing.
"Sharma had won with highest number of votes in the entire state and has always swum against the tide to save the interest of the powerless and helpless, this propaganda of drug scam was meant to counter his stature," Khan alleged.
The students' organisation alleged that the propaganda was also meant to disrupt the peace in the Valley during the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.
