SRINAGAR: Baramulla MP Er Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, has announced that he will observe a day-long hunger strike and undertake a barefoot march to Parliament on July 21 in support of the National Conference’s proposed protest for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. However, he maintained that the broader political rights of the people should not be confined to the demand for statehood alone.
The announcement was made through a message from the jailed MP, which was read out by Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi during a press conference in Srinagar. He was accompanied by AIP Vice President Adv. G.N. Shaheen, General Secretary Prince Parveez, State Secretary Sheikh Ashiq and the MP’s Personal Secretary, Firdouse Baba.
In his message, Er Rashid said the AIP would support any positive initiative aimed at securing the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but criticised the National Conference (NC) for what he described as “intentional and organised betrayals” that, he alleged, had undermined the AIP’s earlier political initiatives.
He accused the NC and other constituents of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) of limiting their political agenda to the restoration of statehood, thereby allowing the BJP-led Union Government to “shift the goalposts”.
“Though the restoration of statehood is a legitimate demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the NC has failed to pursue the larger political aspirations of the people,” Rashid said in his statement.
The Baramulla MP also reminded the NC of its 2024 Assembly election promise to seek the restoration of autonomy in its original form, in accordance with the 1999 resolution passed by the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
He further said that while other regional parties were justified in questioning the NC over its emphasis on statehood alone, they too should explain what they had done for the restoration of Article 370, Article 35A and other constitutional and political rights.
According to Rashid, “almost all regional parties have left the people of Jammu and Kashmir to the mercy of the Modi Government”, making it necessary to support even limited initiatives in the larger public interest.
Despite his criticism of the NC, Rashid announced that he would observe a day-long hunger strike and undertake a barefoot march to Parliament on July 21 in solidarity with the party’s proposed protest.
“I will observe a day-long hunger strike and walk barefoot to Parliament on July 21 to stress the need for a meaningful, time-bound and result-oriented dialogue between the Centre, the elected representatives and other legitimate stakeholders of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He, however, clarified that the AIP’s support for the July 20 protest “must not, by any stretch of the imagination, be construed as an endorsement of the National Conference’s weak and diluted political stand on various legitimate issues”.
Addressing the press conference, Inam Un Nabi said the AIP has consistently advocated the restoration of the complete political and constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He recalled that the party had organised a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last year demanding the restoration of full statehood, Articles 370 and 35A, revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), release of political prisoners, reinstatement of terminated government employees, an end to the demolition of residential houses, withdrawal of the Public Safety Act (PSA), and restoration of democratic and constitutional rights.
While welcoming the National Conference’s decision to launch a statehood campaign, Inam Un Nabi said the initiative had come “too little, too late”.
He argued that limiting the political struggle to statehood alone ignored the broader aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which, he said, the AIP has consistently raised both inside and outside Parliament.
