Srinagar: Youth National Conference (YNC) Provincial President Salman Ali Sagar Monday rejected the allegations of Apni Party senior leader Junaid Azim Matoo as a “bundle of baseless lies”.
In a statement issued here from the party’s Nawa-e-Subha headquarters, Salman dismissed the allegations saying that the incumbent mayor was stooping too low to hide corruption committed by him in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
“By flinging out names and accusations, the mayor has downgraded and criminalised the political discourse,” he said.
“The allegations levelled by the Mayor are unfounded and out of sync with reality. His tirade against us gives slip to his frustration. He has been perpetuating myths to gloss over his massive financial irregularities in the SMC. On the contrary we have always maintained decorum, dignity, and discipline in public life.”
Salman said: “(Ali Muhammad) Sagar Sahab, a six-time legislator, who has been serving people with humility and honesty has never used unparliamentarily language even against the worst of his critics.”
He said that the incumbent Srinagar mayor was putting himself into the shoes of government agencies charged with investigation into irregularities.
“We are open to every inquiry, whenever there is any,” Salman said.
He said that he would open the Pandora’s Box of financial irregularities committed by the incumbent SMC mayor at an appropriate time.
“We will not let him go away with the gross embezzlement in the IEC scheme, procurement of engines, illegalities in employing consultancies, and procurement of substandard machines. Nothing will go unaccounted. We will make the irregularities public with proof very shortly,” Salman said.
He said that he would hold a news conference in the second week of December and bring financial irregularities and embezzlement within SMC to the fore.
“We won’t resort to unparliamentary language nor will we stoop to the level of criminalising the political discourse to which the incumbent mayor has brought it to. Our approach will be civil,” Salman said.
He said that he has regard for Apni Party leadership despite being diametrically opposite to their politics.
“It is high time for them to answer if they support such nose diving of political discourse. Apni Party should come clean on this,” Salman said.
“Rest regarding Khasra No 1016, I assure people that whatever the mayor is saying, he is parroting the lines he has been told and is being rewarded the seat of mayor against such abuses, slander, and mischief against NC. Certainly, I have all the legal options open, which I intend to avail against the mayor. Apni Party can never escape from the fact that their so-called foreign educated mayor has tarnished their image by bringing politics to the level of indecency, indiscipline, criminality and political mockery.