Cautioning against seeing his party through tinted glasses as anti-national, National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah today said whenever it came to saving Jammu and Kashmir, all eyes were on the NC and nobody even looked towards the BJP.
“NC represents the ethos and aspirations of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”, Dr Abdullah asserted while addressing party workers at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan, here this afternoon, first time after being released from detention post August 5, 2019 political developments.
Without mentioning the BJP, the NC President said that if they think themselves to be so powerful, why don’t they show it to the enemy on borders. “On the contrary, our party has not only shown but faced the tribals in 1947 to save Srinagar”, he said and reminded the adversaries that it was he who along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee fought for India in Geneva. “Now, Farooq Abdullah is Pakistani, Chinne (of China) and what not today”, he said while taking jibe at his critics. He asserted that he was not afraid of anyone and would fight for the restoration of rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir all his life.
Dwelling upon political developments in the recent months and referring to the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, Dr Farooq Abdullah said that the alliance is shorn of all regional and religious prejudices, adding that the platform has become a pivot around which people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh have unified.
In a statement issued to GNS, Dr Farooq Abdullah said: “Political environment in Jammu & Kashmir is in flux again a year after the spiteful and unconstitutional nullification of Articles 370, 35.A. He added that “Gupkar declaration has no territorial, and religious bearings, we have come together to restore what was spitefully snatched from us on the 5th of August. We are not fighting an exclusive battle; we are fighting an inclusive battle for the restoration of the rights of people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. Our unity has sent the people at the helm of affairs in a tizzy; which is why they are naming us as anti nationals. Let me tell them that no amount of witch-hunt and obnoxious propaganda can deter us from fighting for the future of our people in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. The people across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have rejected the divisive agenda of BJP. No one can browbeat the Gupkar declaration to silence, it is reflective of the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Our fight is not against the nation, it is against BJP that aims to divide us. BJP is trying to implement its agenda as National agenda, but let me tell them that the National agenda of the country has always remained secular. We are fighting for our constitutional rights, our fight is for the protection of federal structure of the country; our fight is for the future of our people living in all the regions of J&k and Ladakh. We will continue with our fight”.
In his brief address, National Conference Vice President Mr. Omar Abdullah said a wrong impression is being created with regard to Articles 370, 35A. “Both Articles are part of the Constitution of India and not of any other country. So we are not seeking anything outside it, we are fighting for what was there in Indian Constitution. We aren’t seeking anything outside the ambit of the Constitution; rather we are fighting for safeguarding the Constitution. The reason we are being labeled as anti nationals by BJP is because they lack the narrative to oppose us. We are fighting for the restoration of people’s rights, securing the future of the coming generation of our people in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. We are fighting for the rollback of all laws which were notified, enacted and supplanted on J&K and Ladakh post 5th of August 2019 without peoples concurrence,” he said.
Omar said National Conference has always opposed the politics of divide on the basis of religion, region and caste, as it inherits the cherished legacy of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Budhists and all religions unity as practiced by Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. This is why National Conference is visible everywhere in Kashmir, Ladakh and the Jammu regions. “This is eye opener for those who were unleashing a vicious campaign of NC being a party within the confines of the Valley”, he added.
He cautioned the people of Jammu against the land laws and said that any influx will come through this region being the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir. He questioned the self-styled votaries of the rights of the people of Jammu and said why now they were switching off their phones when asked about saving the jobs and landholdings of the state subjects.
Welcoming the President and the Vice President, the Provincial President Jammu Devender Singh Rana highlighted the role played by land to tiller and other pro poor measures of party towards the socio-economic and political emancipation of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Rana said that the National Conference is the voice of the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists residing in different regions of J&K. He added that party ideology is inclusive and not confined to any region.
Senior leaders, former ministers and legislators besides a large number of workers were present on the occasion.
Earlier, the President and the Vice President were escorted by a rally of the YNC workers from Jammu Airport to Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here.