Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Sunday demanded immediate revocation of the government order banning civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla highway for two days a week, saying he doesn’t “understand the logic” behind such a move.
Addressing an election rally in Uri area of northernBaramulla district on the day the highway traffic ban came into force, Omarsaid: “I don’t understand the logic behind this ban. If security forces cannormally operate their convoys for five days without stopping the civiliantraffic, then what is so special about Sundays and Wednesdays when civiliantraffic will be stopped for movement of forces’ convoys?”
“If threat perception is for two days, then what about fivedays when security forces’ movement will go alongside the civilian traffic?”Omar asked, and reiterated his demand for withdrawal of the ban “which is boundto cause pain and anguish among common people”.
“We want the highway to be returned to the people,” he said.
Omar rued that barbed wire has been placed on roads to blockcivilian traffic along the highway.
“Though students and emergency cases have been exempted, buthow can other people reach their destinations amid such harsh restrictions?” heasked.
Omar said that Jammu and Kashmir is “facing the worstsituation at this juncture” as “conspiracies are being hatched to abrogatestate’s special status”.
“When we talk of the importance of Article 35A andprotection of special status, we mean ensuring and protecting the employmentopportunities to the youths of the state which, in absence of these provisions,will be badly hit. It is Article 35-A which ensures unemployed youth jobopportunity in government sector,” Omar said.
Cautioning “forces eager to remove the state’s specialstatus”, Omar said: “Jammu and Kashmir is not like any other state of thecountry that joined the union of India without any conditions. When Maharajasigned the instrument of accession, it was decided after thorough deliberationsthat the government of India would have right on few things only, while therest will remain with the state,” he said.
Omar said the conditions of accession have already beenweakened and attempts are now being made that whatever is left with the peopleof the state “should be snatched”.
“That is why we have to ensure that our true representativerepresents us in the parliament. We have our own constitution and our own flagwhich need to be protected,” he said.
Referring to BharatiyaJanata Party and Peoples Conference,Omar said “their aim is to remove the special status of the state”.
“People should remain cautious about these people who arehere to snatch our political rights. In the past four years, when the state waspassing through the worst situation on law and order front and/or hostilitybetween India and Pakistan which led to evacuation of civilians from severalborder areas, why didn’t these people utter a word?” Omar asked.
Taking a dig at the PC chairman SajadGani Lone, Omar said hewas “exposed” when students and traders of Kashmir were harassed and beaten indifferent Indian cities.
“Sajad Lone has often described NarendraModi as his elderbrother, but I want to ask where Sajad and his so-called elder brother werewhen students and traders of Kashmir were facing harassment in various Indiancities?” Omar said. “While our highway is being banned for civilian traffic,thus pushing our people to extreme hardships, why can’t Sajad Lone seek hisbrother Modi’s intervention in having such restrictions removed?”
Omar said it was National Conference that passed fiveper-cent reservation bill for Pahari-speaking people, but “it saw no forwardmovement in the PDP-BJP led coalition government and finally it was reduced tothree percent in the governor’s administration”.
He assured the people that once National Conference willform the government, it will provide five percent reservation to thePahari-speaking people. Hitting out atthe Peoples Democratic Party for its “failure” to fulfill its election promises,Omar said: “What happened to those power projects which PDP promised to bringback to the state? What happened to restoration of peace talks between Indiaand Pakistan that PDP used to say was a part of their ‘agenda of alliance’ withthe BJP.”
“The much-hyped trade between the divided parts of Kashmirhas not benefitted the people of Uri. Their role has been confined to labourpurposes only. But once the NC government is formed, it will provide the rightopportunity to the people of Uri to be among strong stakeholders in thistrade,” Omar said. He said the PDP and its ally approved the food security bill(FSB) and the goods and services tax (GST) “despite knowing that it will provedisastrous for the people of J&K”.