STATE TIMES NEWS
NAGROTA: National Conference President and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday sought meaningful dialogue for ending political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Alongside opening the channels of dialogue with Pakistan, the Centre must talk to all the stake-holders including Hurriyat Conference, Dr Abdullah said while addressing a huge public rally at Ragooda in Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
He came down heavily on those criticizing him for advocating dialogue with Hurriyat Conference, asking why a finger is not being raised against PDP-BJP duo, which has incorporated this as one of the measures to deal with Kashmir problem in their Agenda of Alliance. He blamed the coalition for bringing the state to unprecedented crisis and unleashing rein of suppression, not only in the Kashmir Valley but also in the Jammu region. In this context, he referred to killing of nearly a hundred youth, blinding of 300 youngsters and detention of over 12,000 people in the Valley during the past nearly five months and harassment being caused weaker sections of society in Jammu by threatening their eviction from the lands rehabilitated by their ancestors’ decades ago.
“Aren’t these people Dogras and integral part of the Jammu society, who are at the receiving end due to whims and fantasies of the coalition dispensation”, Dr Abdullah said and warned that continuation of eviction drive will have serious ramifications.
He said discriminating against the people on the basis of religion, region or caste is acceptable and if the present insensitive government will go ahead with its policies, it will find stiff resistance from National Conference.
He said his party has always stood by the oppressed sections of society, irrespective of caste, creed and colour and will continue to do so even if entails sacrifices. “We inherit the legacy of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh Itehad and anybody attempting to trample this ethos will get a befitting reply from the people”, he said and advised the Chief Minister not to lose sense of proportion by colluding in inflicting miseries on the people.
“The rulers must remember that suppression to people can rebound and bring tremors in their thrones”, he added. He held out an assurance to the people of Nagrota constituency that nobody can dare uproot them from their ancestral dwelling units.
Holding PDP responsible for political instability and unrest across the Valley, Dr Farooq Abdullah said that betrayal of mandate by aligning with the BJP engulfed Jammu and Kashmir into unprecedented crisis. He wondered how the party could join hands with the BJP after high pitch campaign against it during electioneering. He said the PDP had vowed to keep the BJP at bay by claiming the saffron party to be anti-Kashmir but when it came to sharing power, they forgot their hollow slogans. He described the PDP-BJP alliance as one of the major causes of igniting Kashmir unrest, saying people will punish the perpetrators of their miseries.
The National Conference President lambasted PDP for playing cheap and opportunistic politics saying for decades its leaders have remained active in intrigues and destabilizing democratically elected governments/ “Indulging in lies has been the legacy of PDP leaders”, he said while referring to omissions and commissions of its leaders from time to time.
Dr Abdulah also hit out at the coalition government for its failures on all fronts, saying the people are suffering due to developmental inertia and lack of utility services. While payments for works under NAREGA are not being released, various categories of employees are craving for their salaries, he said, adding that even the destitute have been denied of much needed financial assistance.
Speaking on the occasion, former minister Mian Altaf Ahmed blamed the coalition government for converting Jammu and Kashmir into a police state where it has become difficult for self-respecting people to live with dignity.
Mian Altaf referred to the plight weaker sections of society and warned the PDP and the BJP to desist from harassing them by way of hurling threats about eviction. He said National Conference will resist any move aimed at harming the innocent people, irrespective of caste, creed and colour.
Addressing the huge gathering, Provincial President and MLA Nagrota Mr Devender Singh Rana expressed his gratitude to the high command and the people of his constituency for reposing trust in him, saying he will try to come up to their expectations. He said he is endeavouring to satiate the urges and aspirations of each segment of the society. He expressed concern over the threat looming large on weaker sections over eviction and said their ancestors had been rehabilitated by Maharaja Pratap Singh himself. “They are part and parcel of Jammu society,” he added.
“Now subjecting them to harassment speaks of the sick mindset of the coalition partners which are working in tandem to create wedge between the people on the basis of religion and caste”, he said and vowed that National Conference will defeat their sinister designs with full might. He lauded the party cadre for remaining steadfast during most emotive 2014 elections and hoped that they will demonstrate same resilience and determination to be on the right side in future as well.
Besides Block Presidents and other functionaries of the National Conference from the Constituency, former ministers Abdul Gani Malik and Babu Ram Pal, MLA Dr Kamal Arora, former legislators Qazi Jalal-ud-Din, Ajaz Jan, Babu Rampal, Sheikh Bashir and Deepender Kour besides Ch Haroon, Showkat Ahmed Mir, Dilshad Malik, Abdul Gani Teli and Israr Khan were among prominent leaders present on the occasion.
