Senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday regretted that some Kashmir officials were “involved in carrying out fake encounters of innocent people for rewards and promotions”.
Addressing Congress workers at Khannabal here after the party’s candidate for the Anantnag parliament seat Ghulam Ahmad Mir filed his nomination before the returning officer, Azad said: “I always praised the army for fighting militancy and other good work.
The security forces—army, police and paramilitary personnel—have given supreme sacrifices for India, so have our civilians for the unity and integrity of the country.
While we need to stand by the army, at the same time we should be conscious of the fact that if any civilian killing is done for rewards, the guilty should not be spared”.
Azad accused “certain police officials” of staging fakeencounters for promotions and rewards.
“Many among us blame the army for so many things. Today Ihave not talked about them (the army) and I am not doing so but I have myselfwitnessed how Kashmir police officers, merely for getting medals andpromotions, staged fake encounters,” he said.
“During my stint as the J&K chief minister and as headof the unified high command, I made it clear that I was with them (securityforces) in their fight against militancy, but won’t, in any case, tolerate anycivilian killing. One such case came to the fore during my tenure when threeinnocent Kashmiris were killed in a fake encounter by the police and thendubbed as Pakistani militants,” Azad said.
“I ordered for exhumation of their bodies and once it wasestablished beyond doubt that it was a fake encounter, I made sure that all 12policemen, one among them a superintendent of police-rank officer from Jammuand rest Kashmiris, including a DSP-rank official, are taken to task. Today, allof them are rotting in jails for the past 13 years,” Azad said.
“So our Kashmiri brethren did not lag behind in committingatrocities,” he said.
“While we made sure that the army and police are providedevery sort of assistance in wiping out militancy and are felicitated for theirgood work, we ensured those doing killings for awards and promotions are heldaccountable and dealt with sternly,” he said.
Azad said that in Narendra Modi’s government, even athree-year-old girl was not spared.
“She was blinded and her face was disfigured by forces withlethal pellets. What was her fault? Was she a militant?” Azad asked, andquestioned why the culprits were not held accountable.
He blamed the “faulty policies” of the BJP government for”alienation of Kashmiris”.
“Previously, it was mostly illiterates who would take toarms, and during our time, many youths shunned the path of violence and joinedthe mainstream. Today, young educated youth holding professional degrees,postgraduates and doctorates, are leaving homes and picking up arms. Who is tobe blamed for that?” Azad asked.
He termed the Congress manifesto as “exhaustive andinclusive that covers every interest of every region and community in thecountry, including J&K”.
“Earlier, the Congress party would assign the job (of formulating the manifesto) to two or three people. However, this time, the Congress president Rahul Gandhi was pragmatic and he framed a full-fledged manifesto committee headed by former finance minister, eight months ahead of elections.
The panel visited all states. This bigger committee was divided into groups and sub-groups to cover all divisions and districts. They met people from all sections—farmers, businessmen, and small-time laborers etc. So, you will find this manifesto not only exhaustive, but inclusive too,” he said.
Azad also blamed the Modi government for “muzzling voices ofdissent and framing charges against opposition by using the CBI”.
He appealed people to vote for Congress candidate GhulamAhmad Mir.
“Today it is not the question of Ghulam Ahmad Mir beingelected as MP, but it is about defeating communal forces and ending thedictatorship. Your one vote is vital. We must remember how Atal BihariVajpayee-led BJP government was dislodged by one vote in late nineties,” saidAzad.
Earlier, Mir filed his nomination papers before thereturning officer, Anantnag. He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders,including Azad. He is locked in a contest with NC candidate Hassnain Masoodiand PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.