National Conference (NC) Monday rejected the coarse assertions of Apni Party President against the NC leadership as “unfounded and baseless”, saying the sordid remarks reeked of his “frustration” on account of the people’s rejection of the “King’s Party” across J&K.
In a statement issued here, NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said, “It’s ironic that the party which comprises of defectors and who are responsible for engineering defections in political parties here is giving lessons on democracy and ethics. Despite having full support from the powers that be, they were still not able to make a mark in the recent DDC elections.”
The statement said while rejecting remarks made by the “King’s Party” against NC leadership, Dar said, “NC was part of a greater NDA alliance, which was an amalgamation of various parties, no less than 24. We were part of a bigger NDA alliance which besides us had many other secular parties within its fold. The alliance was guided by a common minimum programme. Nevertheless, despite being a constituent of NDA, we didn’t allow BJP to set its foot in J&K, not to talk of allowing it to fiddle with our status. We fought elections against BJP in J&K whilst being part of NDA and were notably able to keep them at bay. We didn’t allow them to make inroads into J&K. On the contrary the Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration led by Farooq (Abdullah) Sahab was not even allowed to campaign properly. Most of our contesting candidates were kept locked up in hotels. Despite that people gave a clear cut mandate in favour of PAGD. The DDC results attested to the universal acceptance of PAGD across J&K. Far from accepting the defeat, Apni Party is using nasty methods to grab power in Kashmir by hook or crook.”