KL Report
SRINAGAR
National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah chaired a marathon meeting of the National Conference Central Working Committee at NC Headquarters at Nawa-e-Subah Complex in Srinagar on Wednesday. The meeting started at 9:00 am and concluded at 06:00 pm in the evening.
According to a party statement, NC General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar introduced the agenda of the meeting and presented resolutions that were put before the Central Working Committee.
Speaking at the end of the CWC meeting, NC Working President Omar Abdullah said that the Central Working Committee was an august forum of the party that had been called to meet in order to openly discuss various views and opinions face-to-face and to evolve a consensus for the strengthening of the party. “Omar Abdullah said that it was important to take lessons from defeat and make ourselves stronger, better and more resolute in our mission,” the statement said.
“National Conference had never and will never compromise on its political ideology and agenda,” Omar said.
Terming NC’s stand on the political resolution of Kashmir Issue as clear and unambiguous, Omar said that he was the only Chief Minister who spoke strongly and fearlessly about the resolution of the Kashmir Issue on the floor of the State Legislative Assembly and also in front of the former Prime Minister of India during his visit to the State. “I repeatedly reiterated that Kashmir Issue was a political problem that merited a political solution and no amount of economic packages could substitute the need for a political settlement,” the statement quoting Omar said.
He also highlighted the fact that he openly and on-record spoke about the difference between merger and accession in the Legislative Assembly – something that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed would never have dared to do.
NC Working President and Chief Minister of J&K Omar Abdullah further said that Mufti Sayeed’s “healing touch” was a big hoax and was based on lies and propaganda, something PDP has over the years attained a specialization in.
“Mufti Mohammad Sayeed claimed to have disbanded the SOG and the STF but the reality was that he only institutionalized their mandate by a change in nomenclature,” Omar alleged.
Exposing PDP’s lies, Omar Abdullah said that Mufti Sayeed started his “healing touch” propaganda by issuing SRO-43 orders that were brought into effect by National Conference in the previous Dr Farooq Abdullah regime.
“National Conference demolished more than 40 concrete bunkers from Srinagar City and that these bunkers were turned into concrete and painted and decorated structure by the previous PDP regime,” he said.
He added that PDP was spreading lies and canards about cases registered against stone-pelters and gave numbers to make the truth surface. “Only 45 stone-pelters were under custody at present with 35 of them booked under non-PSA, regular cases. Canards spread to the contrary by PDP were gross distortions of the truth and were politically motivated.”
“The atmosphere of peace was vitiated in the State by PDP in 2008 due to their involvement in the Amarnath Land Row Agitation – a burden of which was transferred on to the shoulders of the new government in the form of a volatile law and order situation,” Omar said and added that the Home Department was looking into the possibility of some sort of a general amnesty to those cases that were not challaned and were not under the purview of the Honourable courts.
“The final decision on the issue of electoral alliance would be taken by the Party President Dr Farooq Abdullah after due consultations with party leaders and grassroots workers,” the NC Working President said and further claimed that National Conference would give PDP a fight to remember in the forthcoming Assembly Elections and the party had too glorious a history and too proud a legacy for its spirits to be dampened by one electoral result.
Omar Abdullah said that the party’s Parliamentary Board would be meeting soon so that the first list of candidates for the coming Assembly Elections would be announced after due feedback is gathered from the grassroots level and consensus is evolved at various relevant forums within the party. Omar Abdullah said that it would be the party’s endeavour to announce candidates soon so that they could start focusing on their respective assembly segments, the statement said.
Omar Abdullah also reiterated the need to infuse new blood and new faces into the rank and file of National Conference and said that youth was and will always be the driving force of the party.
“National Conference was a historic and political movement of struggles and sacrifices and not a ‘Private Limited Company’ like other political organizations that are centered around the whims of one single family,” he said. “National Conference belonged to the workers of the party and that he would always serve National Conference as a loyal and dedicated soldier of the party.”
