KL Report
SRINAGAR
Sitting Member of Parliament from Baramulla and senior National Conference (NC) leader Sharif-ud-din Shariq has said that the NC-Congress Alliance was an ideological coalition and not an opportunistic marriage of convenience.
“Our alliance with Congress is ideological and is in pursuit of the common values and ideals of secularism, pluralism and communal harmony. There was no rift between the coalition partners during the course of the Parliamentary Elections and the question of a rift now doesn’t arise”.
Stating that certain sections were wrongly projecting a rift between NC and Congress at the behest of some vested interests, Shariq said “My remarks were distorted and twisted at certain places and in some reports. I stand by the NC-Congress ideological coalition’s united efforts in these Parliamentary Elections and am confident of a win for the NC-Congress Coalition from all six Parliamentary Seats in the State”, Shariq said.
Sharif-ud-din Shariq said that the alliance between NC and Congress was an alliance between secular forces against the march of communalism and divisive politics.
“We are united in our resolve to protect the secular ethos and traditions of not just J&K but the entire country. Our workers are informed political minds who understand the importance of standing united against the threat of communalism. Both parties have similar ideological goals in this context and have similar foes”, Shariq said.
Condemning the assault on voters in certain areas of North Kashmir, Shariq said that these unfortunate incidents had the potential of fragmenting the Kashmiri society to the ultimate detriment of this nation.
“While people have a right to boycott elections, people also have an equal right to participate in elections. Both rights need to be upheld and coercion or intimidation is not acceptable”, Shariq said. Shariq appealed to the people of North Kashmir to respect each other’s’ sentiments and differences of opinion and asked responsible citizens in their respective areas to facilitate a reconciliation between the people.
