People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone on Monday said there was need to create an “engagement” with both the central government and the opposition parties of the country in order to “remove all bottlenecks in the communication” without which even “thinking of restoration of Article 370” was wrong.
“You have to engage with the people. You cannot even think of getting Article 370 back by not engaging with people of India. The ball is in their court and they will decide whether we get it back or not. The more negative you talk and the more you negate them, you are making it more difficult to get it ( Article 370) back,” Lone said while addressing a press conference at his residence during an event
which saw former PDP leaders Peer Mansoor and Khursheed Alam join the People’s Conference. Former NC leader Basharat Bukhari also joined the party on the occasion.
“I would say a healthy engagement, removing all bottlenecks in the communication is needed . You can’t disengage with Delhi. By Delhi, I mean the people of India, the Union Government and the opposition,” Lone said.
In an apparent reference to the political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir, Lone said, “We have failed the people of Jammu and Kashmir” by not approaching the central government, opposition parties or the civil society after the constitutional status of J&K was scrapped. “It has been a long time (since the abrogation of Article 370) but we have failed the people of J&K as none of us has gone ahead and spoken either with the ruling party or the opposition,” Lone said. Lone said “there was a lot of space and scope” but added that it was a “difficult task for a common man to achieve”.
On the joining of the three leaders into PC, Lone said, “They are joining a political movement” adding that he was hopeful that “in coming decades all three leaders will play a pivotal role in the politics of J&K”. “We will try to ensure that JKPC plays an important role in Jammu and Kashmir. I welcome all these three senior leaders who joined us today,” Lone said.
Basharat Bukhari, who had joined NC after leaving PDP, said many of his colleagues in his erstwhile party PDP had approached him for launching a new political party but he rejected the idea of a new party “as it can cause the vote to be divided.”
“Instead I joined the National Conference where I had a respectful stint for almost two years but one doesn’t join a political party just for your convenience but to be utilised properly,” Bukhari said.
Peer Mansoor said it was during his detention in 2019 after abrogation of Article 370 that he closely interacted with PC chairman Sajad Lone and finally led him to join the party. Mansoor said there were “more leaders” who would be joining PC in the next few weeks.