KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
At the party’s day-long District Convention held at Pulwama, National Conference Sunday alleged BJP’s agenda in J&K was anything but governance and the right-wing party’s advent into J&K through PDP – its ‘Trojan Horse’ – did not auger well for the State’s political interests and welfare.
Speaking at the party convention in Pulwama, NC General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar lashed out at BJP for issuing ‘inflammatory and radical’ statements that are full of ‘contempt and disdain’ towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“BJP’s statements – through its senior leaders and spokespersons – on sensitive issues like AFSPA, Article 370 and the issues of talks with Hurriyat Conference are full of communal disdain and contempt. While the party, in connivance with PDP pretended to have shelved its longstanding agenda of abrogating Article 370 during the Assembly Elections, BJP’s National Spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra has recently stated unequivocally that BJP remains committed to the abrogation of Article 370. What is even more tragic is that our Chief Minister has till now remained completely silent on this newly advocated demand by BJP to scrap Article 370. Every single pretense that was put forth as a smokescreen in the PDP-BJP ‘Common Minimum Program’ has been rubbished and trashed with contempt by the BJP – and their demand to abrogate Article 370 is the latest incident that exposes Mufti Sahab,” Sagar said while addressing party leaders, delegates and office bearers at NC District Office, Mujahid Manzil in Pulwama.
Demanding the immediate revocation of AFSPA from J&K, NC Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal asked New Delhi to stop discriminating against the people of J&K and afford them the same democratic rights and liberties as afforded to citizens in other States of the country.
“When AFSPA can be revoked from Tripura, why are the people of J&K expected to live in perpetuity with AFSPA – an act that puts into abeyance their basic rights? While NC was in power, the Congress party in the State – most notably the then PCC President Professor Saifuddin Soz openly opposed NC’s demand for AFSPA revocation. However, today it is quite amusing to see the same Professor Soz demand the revocation of the Act. When it mattered, he and some of his colleagues chose to oppose the demand of National Conference and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to revoke AFSPA. Similarly, PDP – which was the principal opposition party – chose to further its petty partisan agenda for power on the sensitive, humanitarian issue of AFSPA rather than rising above politics to support NC’s efforts to get AFSPA revoked. While in opposition, PDP leaders – including Mehbooba Mufti said AFSPA could be revoked by the State Cabinet. Our question to Mehbooba Mufti is simple – what stops Mufti Sayeed and his Cabinet from revoking AFSPA from J&K – especially given the fact that we have been told that the PDP-BJP alliance besides other agreements, hinges on the revocation of AFSPA? Mufti Sahab is the one who has introduced AFSPA in J&K and it is his moral obligation to the people of the State to revoke this Act without any further delay. Unlike PDP, National Conference will rise above politics to support all endeavors of PDP to get the Act revoked – both inside the State Assembly and outside of it,” Kamaal said.
NC Provincial President, Nasir Aslam Wani lashed out at the PDP-BJP Government for this “criminal neglect” of the flood cictims and warned PDP about the saturation of tolerance and patience among the victims of the September calamity. “PDP told us that they were diving head-first into this unholy alliance with BJP so that they could get money from the Central Government to help the flood victims. This was clearly said by both Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti during the period when they pretended to be deliberating on the possibility of tying up with BJP. Now today the State’s Finance Minister brazenly tells us that this was never on the agenda and was not a reason to tie up with the BJP. Nine months have passed since the floods wreaked havoc with Kashmir and the flood victims are yet to see any signs of political will from either PDP or BJP to start their rehabilitation and dispensing compensation to them. Mufti Sahab’s beloved ally – the BJP was more visibly forthcoming to help Nepal in its time of need than helping the people of Kashmir in their testing time – and till now we are yet to see Mufti Sahab stand up and demand justice from the Central Government. Fact is Mufti Sahab sold the mandate of the people to the BJP and RSS for becoming the Chief Minister for six years and in return signed off the rights and interests of this State and its people,” he said.
