Jammu: Stating that non-participation in previous elections have proved very baneful, National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that staying away from polls is not going to help.
According to a press note, he was addressing a public gathering
in Surankote. “Non- participation in the previous elections proved very baneful for the region. Staying away from elections is also not going to help us either. We cannot expect to have problems resolved by sitting. Even today concerted efforts are underway to divide us. In rest of the country, wedges are being drawn on communal lines, but in Jammu and Kashmir, divisions are being crafted on regional and ethic lines. In the upcoming elections, we have to keep such forces at bay, who are determined to thrive on the local fault lines,” Omar said.
He made a fervent appeal to people to remain united and not allow anyone to strike regional and religious discord.
Omar was accompanied by party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, senior leaders Mian Altaf Ahmad, Javed Rana, Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, Provincial President Rattan Lal Gupta, YNC Provincial President Ajaz Jan, Deputy Political Advisor to VP Mudassir Shahmiri, NC OBC Cell chairman Abdul Gani Kohli and other party functionaries.
“The reservations will impact the election results as and when held, Omar said. Necessitating on the need of choosing a right candidate he said, “If a person is to become your representative then it has to be from you, a known face, whom you can confide in your problems for their speedy redressal. Having your issues redressed will become more difficult if your representative is an unknown face.”
He said NC has always been a strong votary of giving ST status to both Gujjar and Pahari communities. “Right from 1983, successive NC governments led by myself and my father have tried hard to have Pahari community in the list.
Every time our efforts went unsuccessful due to the unfavourable response from New Delhi. Notwithstanding New Delhi cold shoulder to our legislations in this regard we decided to give four percent reservation to Paharis and one percent to OBCs in 2014.
But the proposed reservation was shelved by the then government and the successive governments too did not heed to execute it. There has been no change in our stance, our party is committed to the emancipation every single person in J&K.
We have worked for all the sections of society, and will continue to with renewed passion. We will strive to give everyone their due rights,”he said.
The decisions of August, 2019 he said were a consequence of NC’s infirmity. “Had we been strong, no one would have even dared to touch our status, our identity, our constitutional rights,” he added.