National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Tuesday dared the government of India to scrap Articles 370 and 35A which grant special status to Jammu and Kashmir, saying such a move would “end the relationship between the state and the union of India”.
“I dare them (New Delhi) to even touch Articles 370 and35A,” Abdullah said during a party convention in Ganderbal district.
He said if they say these constitutional provisions aretemporary, then the accession of J&K to the union of India is alsotemporary and “they have to be ready for that as well”.
“Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley have said that they will abolishArticles 35A and 370. Let them do it. We will also see how they will do it,”Abdullah, who is fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha election from the Srinagarparliamentary seat, said.
The relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhiwill be over if Article 370 is scrapped, he said.
“If there is any tinkering with the special status, thepeople would be forced to even think whether they want to join India or not”.
“J&K is a Muslim majority state, will it even want tostay with you in that case?” the former J&K chief minister asked.
Abdullah said that if the people of J&K had to go withPakistan, they would have done so in 1947.
“But they chose to live in Gandhi’s India, but sadly a ‘newIndia’ is being created within India now,” he said. “We want India which wasenvisioned by Mahatma Gandhi”.
Abdullah accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “dividing thenation on the basis of religion”.
Hitting out the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Abdullah saidhe was not the only person capable of running the country.
“He is an actor and I have never seen such an actor tillnow,” he said.
The forthcoming general elections will be a battle to saveIndia, Abdullah said.
“This election is not just about Jammu and Kashmir. You haveto safeguard religious freedom and ‘one India’ where everyone from Hindu,Muslim, Sikh, Christian and other communities can live together at peace,” hesaid.
Abdullah said the upcoming parliament election was also afight for “protecting the secular identity of India, which is passing through avery difficult phase”.
“It is the question of saving the nation where people of allreligions can live peacefully,” he said.
“This election is about whether India will remain a secularIndia or not. It is not about Farooq Abdullah, but about saving the country.So, remember this (election) is a bigger battle,” he said.
The NC chief also criticised the Prime Minister for “making falsepromises” to the people of the country.
Abdullah said Modi had made many promises ahead of the 2014elections, “but those promises were not kept”.
“He (Modi) only lies. He made many promises. He said he willcreate two crore jobs every year, which meant 10 crore jobs in five years.Where are those jobs?” Abdullah asked.
“Modi also said he would reduce petrol and gas cylinderprices, but have they done so? The inflation has increased. Our farmers arestill committing suicide,” he said.
“Modi had promised to deliver on various issues concerningthe nation during his 2014 election campaign, but he has aggravated theproblems to an extent that it will take decades to solve them now,” Abdullahsaid.
“The Modi government presents a tale of failures andmis-governance. People have now made it a point to give a befitting reply toModi for his failures and lies,” he said.
Referring to Balakot airstrikes, the NC president said itwas done to “divert the attention of people from the real issues” and “it wassolely an election stunt”.
“He (Modi) tried to attack Pakistan and said we killed 300(militants) there just to show that he has courage and can do anything, butthey bombarded trees in that country,” Abdullah said. “They (Pakistan) havefiled a case in a court seeking compensation for damages to its trees”.
Farooq said that Prime Minister Modi showed sympathy withthe CRPF men killed in Pulwama attack “just because elections were nearing”.
“How many Indian soldiers have been killed in Chhattisgarh,did Modi ever go there and pay his tributes? Did he ever sympathise with theirfamilies? Has he ever spoken anything on the soldiers getting killed there?” hesaid.
Abdullah said throughout its history, the NationalConference has “symbolised unity and integrity”.
“Our party has given immense sacrifices to protect specialconstitutional position of J&K within the Union of India. Now we are facingonslaught from all sides and the RSS-BJP and their cronies in the state aretrying their level best to do away with the state’s special position”.
Underscoring the importance of ensuing Lok Sabha elections,Abdullah said: “The LS polls are an opportune moment to clean the country andthe state from the communal yolk. This time you have to cast vote for securingIndia’s secular visage, and in particular the very identity and integrity ofour state”.
‘WON’T BE FAZED BY BJP-RSS THREATS’
“People of Kashmir will not be fazed by threats of BJP-RSSon scrapping special status of the state. Those saying Articles 370 and 35-Aare temporary are wittingly or unwittingly affirming that the accession wasalso temporary,” Abdullah said, according to a National Conference statement.
“Those who created a ruckus about the assertions of OmarAbdullah’s speech wherein he has sought restoration of the status of the stateon the original terms of accession are unqualified and untaught about thehistorical facts”.
“It was our party which, after Maharaja Hari Singh executedthe accession with the union of India, sought unimpeachable constitutionalsafeguards for our state under the Delhi agreement. Our party has always soughtrestoration of the relation of our state with the union of India on theoriginal terms of accession, which only gave three subjects of communication,defense and foreign affairs to the union. Maharaja gave everything else to thepeople of the state,” Abdullah said, according to the statement, and added:”However, after the unconstitutional arrest of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, thespecial status was dented to an extent that it remained a pale shadow of whatSheikh sahib was able to achieve. We will not be fazed or frightened by thethreats of BJP-RSS. We will continue to seek our rights that were infringedupon”.
“After NC came to power, it got the autonomy resolutionpassed in the assembly with two-third majority. The resolution was heartilypassed by the majority of assembly members belonging to different faiths andregions of the state. Former Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao in a televisedaddress at Burkina Faso had approved of having sadr-e-riyasat and wazir-e-azamfor Jammu and Kashmir. He has on record said that ‘as far as giving autonomy tothe state of J&K is concerned, sky is the limit’,” Abdullah said.
“When he came back I asked him that much of special statushas been eroded since 1953, to which he answered that once in government, theforum of assembly should be used to undo the erosions. We too didn’t budge fromasking for the restoration of our infringed rights and once in power in 1996 wegot the autonomy resolution passed with a huge majority. Those who say that theresolution was cast out are wrong, the documents are still with the uniongovernment and one day the Centre has to implement it,” he said. “There is no otherway peace can return to the state until autonomy of the state is not restored”.
“In the run up to Beigh–Parthasarthy Accord, my father hadwritten to late Indira Gandhi asserting forcefully that he seeks the relationwith the union on the actual conditions of accession with India. The letter isstill in the repositories of the concerned departments of the uniongovernment,” he said.
Abdullah said the forthcoming elections will decide if theminorities including Muslims “walk holding their heads high and chin up”, thestatement read.
“Mehbooba Mufti is these days seen saying that her party’sjoining hands with the BJP proved poisonous for the party. However, in reality, she poisoned the stateand opened the floodgates to such forces which are inimical to the identity andintegrity of the state,” Abdullah said: “Mufti Sayeed betrayed the mandate ofpeople by hobnobbing with RSS-BJP. People had reposed their faith in him butwhat followed was a colossal betrayal of that trust. The embrace of Muftis andBJP-RSS plunged the state into chaos and melancholy.”
Referring to what he called “the sorry tale of minorities inIndia under BJP rule”, Abdullah said: “Today our nation is facing immensehazard in the form of communal strife. We are at a crossroads and now it is upto us to decide if India remains secular, progressive in its outlook whereinall the communities thrive and draw their sustenance affably or a country whichis tangled with the clutches of communal strife and bigotry. Now it is up tothe people. The opportunity has come. Weshould not let it pass by us unutilised”.
“Today, on the one hand, there is Gandhi’s India which isall inclusive, and on the other, there are forces which believe that Indiabelongs to the adherents of only one faith. World has seen such fascist forcestrying their level best to harm the brotherhood and peace before as well in theform of Hitler. Today, we are facing modern day Hitlers and Gobbles. LikeGobbles, they thrive on falsehood, lies and mendacious politics,” Abdullah said,according to the NC statement.
In a frontal attack on PM, Abdullah said: “The incumbentModi government failed on all fronts. However, they saw a way out bymasquerading behind the Pulwama attack. When many CRPF personnel were devouredupon in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi didn’t go there. The sacrifice of CRPF men inChhattisgarh didn’t move him, he remained unfazed. Not just when the bodies ofslain CRPF men were brought to Delhi, PM Modi was busy in a shooting. Thebodies of slain CRPF were kept in waiting for the tributes which were to bepaid by PM Modi”.
“The incumbent government however took no time to milk thesituation to its full to hide the farmer distress, price rise, foreign policyfailures, and falling economy. I have not seen an actor like Modi. His eminencein theatrics has surpassed all actors. He has been doing nothing but lying topeople since he took the reins of power. He squandered the mandate of peopleand besides that he spoiled the precious time of nation and its people. Failingto deliver on the promises which he made, he aggravated the situation to anextent which will take years to restore. Every single vital sector of ourcountry is presenting a grimy tale of mis-governance,” Abdullah said.
Slamming Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley, Abdullah said: “TheMuslims of the country don’t need certificates from BJP-RSS on theirpatriotism. We are not anti-national. We have given immense sacrifices for theunity of nation. I have lost many of my party functionaries and workers to thefrenzy of conflict. These people don’t see that, but when we raise voice forthe restoration of our rights we are being tainted as anti-national.”