National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said that forces inimical to the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir will “go to any extent to weaken the voice of Kashmiris”.
“The forthcoming election is of great importance to us as it provides us with an opportunity to show how passionately we care for our identity and unique status,” Farooq said, according to a statement issued by his party.
“The communal forces of the country have a singular agenda in mind, which is to fully merge the state with the Union of India. However it is up to people now to not allow them succeed in their designs. The communal forces will try to use government machinery, money and muscle to influence the elections.
Their Trojan horses and cronies in the state especially in Kashmir will leave no stone unturned to divide the voice of people. However, I am sure that people have made it a point not to fall prey to their evil designs. The forthcoming elections provide us an opportunity to clean the country and the state of the communal yolk”.
Farooq said the party has resolved to “fight against machinations aimed at obliterating the special identity and integrity of the state”, the statement said, adding: “With the active support of people, National Conference will never allow such intrigues to get materialised”.
NC’s vice-president Omar Abdullah, who also addressed party workers, asked the youth National Conference functionaries to gear up and put in their efforts to make party stronger at grassroots.
“It is the youths who have to shoulder the responsibility of guarding the unique status of the state. The ensuing general elections are of supreme importance because it will decide the recourse of the state and country at large for next half a decade. So it is rather imperative for us to have a voice that could raise our issues in the parliament, for that we have to strengthen the efforts of Dr Sahab (Farooq Abdullah),” he said.
Party’s general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said the situation was no different from 1977 elections.
“Today we have National Conference versus all those forces as are hell bent on destroying our special character. The need of the hour demands us to forge unity and trounce the machinations of all those forces as are contriving to destroy our special status and unique identity,” the statement said, quoting Sagar.