Shopian, May 2: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Altaf Bukhari today said that with massive public support his party is always ready for elections.
He added that he had opposed the carving out of Anantnag- Rajouri constituency.
“I held a press conference then and said that the injustice was done to us during the delimitation process. I had said that Anantnag – Rajouri constituency was carved out by slashing our chest into two parts,” Bukhari told reporters in south Kashmir’s Shopian town.
He said that his party was ready for polls for the last four years.
“The weather has improved. We are ready if they hold the elections right away”, Bukhari said.
Earlier, while addressing a public rally, he said that people of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a huge tragedy on August 5, 2019 when the article 370 and 35 A were scrapped.
“On that fateful day, speaking in common parlance, lightning struck us,” he said.
Bukhari also held the Kashmiri leadership responsible for the scrapping of special constitutional provisions. “It was on their (BJP’s) agenda, but they could not have done anything, if our leadership had made it permanent,” he said.
Launching a tirade on National Conference, Bukhari said that in 1996 the party could have sought the permanence of constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir than contesting the elections.
“Unfortunately they preferred power,” he said.
Bukhari said that National Conference Lok Sabha members did not resign from parliament when the special position of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated.
He said that National Conference did not have any right to seek votes from the people. “Over the last five years, Did they secure the release of any incarcerated youth? Have they initiated any developmental project in Kashmir,” Bukahri asked.
Addressing the rally, Zafar Iqbal Manhas and Lok Sabha candidate for Anantnag- Rajouri seat pulled up the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party for stating that these elections were not for roads or electricity. “We have been hearing this since 1950s. Their own children study in London. Why should they need roads and electricity,” said Manhas.
He castigated the National Conference for eroding the article 370.
Manhas said that their party would ensure the protection of land and jobs on the lines of Himachal Pradesh and Goa.
He said that the party would also work to give boost to the horticulture industry.
“It is the backbone of our economy. We will ensure that the harvest does not rot in Cold Storages”, Manhas said. He urged the people to vote in favour of Apni Party candidates.