National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the upcoming parliament by-elections were important battles that would both define and measure the strength of our people in resisting the tyrannical onslaught of the BJP and the RSS in J&K. “This is an important battle and will test our resolve and our integrity. It is vital to defeat RSS and its local affiliates who have always harboured an ambition to subvert the State’s political rights and special status”, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said while addressing party delegates, workers and activists from Beerwah Assembly Segment at National Conference Head Office, ‘Nawa-e-Subha’ in Srinagar today.Addressing the gathering that marked the start of the party’s campaign for the by-elections to the Srinagar and Anatnag Lok Sabha seats, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said the by-polls present a vital opportunity for both the people of the State as a whole as well as National Conference to valiantly defend the State from those who have propped up their Trojan horses among our ranks with an aim to fragment our State on the basis of region and religion.
“Make no mistake about the fact that PDP is BJP and BJP is PDP. Their candidates for these by-polls are in fact the proxy candidates of the BJP and the RSS and come with their blessings and support from the highest levels. Their loyalty lies with those forces that want to use policies of division and divisiveness to further their agenda in the State. PDP has no qualms in being a part of this plan as long as it translates into the personal political empowerment of those who lead the party”, Dr. Farooq Abdullah further added.“These are the people who want to fragment, divide and categorize our people on the basis of their sects, their linguistic diversity, their regions and their castes. Over the last two years we have all witnessed how these political forces have engineered cracks within our society and tried their level best to set our people against each other. It is our duty to protect our society and our social fabric from such nefarious plans and we will all work together to ensure our State is rid of this menace once for all”, the National Conference President said.Addressing the gathering, National Conference Working President Mr. Omar Abdullah said PDP had brought nothing to the Valley other than bloodshed, strife and oppression. “When PDP was in the opposition, they were known for their eloquent moral sermons and sentimental slogans – all of which was effortlessly abandoned once they attained political power.
The same people who opposed pellet-guns while they were in the opposition ended up not only using pellet guns to blind and maim hundreds of our youth but have also chosen to increase the number of pellet guns from around 500 to now around 6,000. When our young children were losing their eyesight, the PDP-BJP Government was brazenly defending the use of pellet guns in the High Court in response to various public interest litigation”, the NC Working President said in his address. “Today we get to see a new neo-liberal, ‘realistic’ and ‘blunt’ Mehbooba Mufti who blames our young children for their own deaths and has no hesitation in mocking and ridiculing their families rather than consoling them and apologizing to them. Today Mehbooba Ji doesn’t talk of AFSPA revocation, ‘Self-Rule’, demilitarization, Indo-Pak dialogue, talks with Hurriyat and opening of additional routes along the Line of Control. There is no talk of AFSPA revocation and it is evident that PDP has surrendered this demand in exchange of BJP’s continued patronage. Similarly, the party’s ‘self-rule document’ has disappeared summarily. Rather than any advancement on talks between India and Pakistan, the animosity between the two neighbours is unprecedented today. The same PDP that promised about facilitating talks between Hurriyat and New Delhi has now openly supported and advocated an all-out attack on Hurriyat leaders through all available means”, Mr. Omar Abdullah added.
The NC Working President said PDP’s performance on the governance and development front was equally disappointing as the State was witnessing one of the worst periods of governance and development deficit in recent times. “This government has failed to provide even basic facilities to the people and development has come to a standstill. Even those developmental projects and schemes initiated by the previous Government stand abandoned without any reason. One wonders if bad-governance is a hidden chapter in the ‘Agenda of Alliance’ between the two parties. The parliament by-polls presents an important, vital opportunity to confront this alliance and stand in resolute opposition to its ulterior motives”, the NC Working President said. National Conference General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Party leaders Professor Abdul Majeed Matto, Tanvir Sadiq and senior office bearers of Beerwah also addressed the gathering.(GNS)