National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections provide the people an opportunity to “secure the future of our coming generations” and this opportunity “should be utilised to cleanse the country and the state from the communal yolk that is contriving to divide the hearts of the people”.
Addressing two separate election rallies at Hazratbal andCharar-e-Sharief, Farooq said that “no election is as important as the ensuingone since it will decide if this country will be run by the ideals of theconstitution or not (sic)”.
“The constitution of the country assures everyone adignified life; it gives equal respect and equal opportunities to all. However,the incumbent government does not think on these lines and their idea of thenation-state is fraught with malice and religious prejudices,” Farooq said,according to a National Conference statement issued here.
“They nurture hate for minorities, particularly Muslims. Nowit’s up to us to ensure if we want to live in a secular India or the India thatis infested by bigotry and communalism. The opportunity is tapping our door. Weshould make the most of it and give India a responsible, secular andprogressive government”.
“Kashmir has to take a lead in this direction, primarily tosave our special status, our identity and to ensure that the secular visage ofthe country is restored,” he said.
Farooq alleged that Modi’s tenure shall be remembered for”forgotten promises, lies and showmanship”.
Referring to the BJP’s election manifesto, Farooq said “itis a repetition of the same promises which it miserably failed to fulfill onground for the past five years”.
“They had promised to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in theValley. Were they able to do so? The other day a Kashmiri Pandit visited me andrecounted how BJP ditched his community. The Pandit was mulling to shift toKashmir and had sought some monetary help from the government, but his plea hadfound no takers. This is just a case in point. There are numerous such Panditfamilies who actually wanted to return to Kashmir but found it difficultbecause of the absence of government support”.
“The BJP only wants the votes of Pandits, rest there wasn’tany initiative rolled out by the Centre to get them back to their homes. ManyPandits, who work here, visited me recently and narrated how they have beenthrown out of their government accommodations,” Farooq claimed.
Farooq said that on the one hand, Arun Jaitely and RajnathSingh say that Articles 370 and 35-A have to go, but on the other the governorsays these will remain intact.
“Who should be believed? How many more bodies they want tosee? The other day an educated boy from a district that has never seen violencegave his life at Kulgam. He could not bear the injustice meted out to hiscountrymen. The repression and intimidation have to stop, otherwise it would bedifficult to win the hearts and bridge the gaps,” Farooq said.
Rejecting the allegations of “appropriating wealth”, he said, “The property I have at Gupkar was purchased by my father after selling our family property at Soura.
The property I have at Tangmarg belonged to my late mother who had acquired it from her father. Had I appropriated wealth, I would have been an Ambani, but unlike BJP leaders who are millionaires, I prefer to live a life by honest means. On the contrary, it’s the BJP that has to answer the nation on Rafale deal. The country wants to know the facts”.
Farooq said that development of J&K became “the firstcasualty” ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre.
“Where are Rs 80000 crore promised to us? Mehbooba Mufti, onthe floor of the assembly, maintained that her government only got Rs 10,000crore. What have they done for our state? People want to know? How many jobswere they able to give to our youth? People know well that nothing happened forthe last five years, and on the contrary, a plethora of miseries were unleashedon them”.
“J&K is a political issue and has to be solved politically. It is a political solution that we aspire for. The issue is in the UNO also, and those who think Article 370 is temporary are right, it’s until a plebiscite is to be carried out in the state (sic). The political settlement of the issue is yet to be done. We aren’t asking for anything new. We are asking for our rights. Article 370 is temporary until plebiscite is not done.
The accession was carried out, which Karan Singh has testified was done by his father; however the accession was confined to three things only: communication, foreign affairs and defense.
The maharaja gave rest of the things to the people of the state. We want the relation with the union of India on those fundamental points. Our accession is also powered by the Delhi agreement”.
“When I headed the state, I got the autonomy resolution passed, and those who say it was rejected are wrong. The then home minister LK Advani visited my residence on the death of my mother to offer his condolences.
He also maintained that they were considering it (autonomy resolution). The development was followed by the constitution of a committee headed by KC Pant and later another committee was formed which was headed by Arun Jaitely,” he said.
“If the people of the state want to retain their specialstatus, then they should come under the flag of National Conference. The peoplehave to repose their faith in the candidates fielded by our party. It is thisflag that we have to vote for. We have to put aside our differences and jointlyfight for our rights,” he said.