KL Report

SRINAGAR\

National Conference-Congress coalition candidate for Islamabad Parliamentary constituency Dr Mehboob Beg on Thursday said that political mainstream in the state does not believe in violence and it is the militants who are responsible for the ‘innocent killings’ in South Kashmir.

Talking to KNS after he cast his vote at Sarnal in Anantnag, Beg said that the militants are backed by the separatists in Kashmir and they go for killings of political workers   just because they have an ideological difference with the political mainstream.

“I disagree with Dr Farooq Sahib and Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beigh sahib who have blamed political rivalry for the recent killings of Sarpanches in South Kashmir. It is the militants backed by separatists who carry out these killings just because we want to settle things through dialogue and negotiations,” Beg told KNS.

Beg said Syed Ali Geelani, Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik have ideological difference with the political mainstream and this why these separatist leaders propagate poll boycott. “Yes they have differences with our political approach but I don’t think that should be a reason to resort to violence,” he added.

Regarding the polling in Islamabad Lok Sabha constituency, Beg said that recent visit of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to various areas in South Kashmir has turned the poll scenario in favour of National Conference. He said Omar’s stature and popularity among people has garnered support for him and rest according to Beg was done by the Congress leadership particularly Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prof Saifuddin Soz. “Omar Sahib’s visits to South Kashmir has changed the political mood in entire South Kashmir and we have been able to consolidate our votes. The Chief Minster’s visits created a wave in South Kashmir and if there were some weak areas for National Conference, those were taken care by the Congress leadership and the party workers who according to Beg have supported National Conference wholeheartedly this time.

Beg alleged that a wrong notion is being propagated by opposition PDP that boycott and low poll percentage benefits National Conference. “Let me remind people that PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had bagged 75000 votes in 2004 and had won and I had got 150,000 in 2009 and won. Also those who say that PDP has 12 MLAs in South Kashmir that will favour them this time. Let me remind these people that PDP had 12 MLAs in 2009 also but why did PDP candidate lost.  Besides that my performance in Parliament has remained better than Mehbooba Mufti. I raised a number of issues and which she did not during her time. We have made our performance in Parliament available on internet for people to judge us.”

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