Mufti cautions NC against pushing Kashmir

‘NC leaders have developed vested interest in violence, bloodshed’;

Party tearing apart democratic institutions in JK: Ansari

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today cautioned National Conference (NC) against pushing Kashmir again into a quagmire of death and destruction for petty political gains.

According to a statement issued to KNS, Sayeed said while addressing a series of election meetings in Zadibal and Kangan Assembly segments of Srinagar Parliamentary constituency: “I am sure the emancipated voters of Srinagar won’t allow NC to reenact the gory gambit of orchestrating reckless violence and using various devious means to ensure poll boycott, as it tried to do in South Kashmir.”

PDP Senior Vice-President Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, party’s candidate for Srinagar Parliamentary constituency Tariq Hammed Karra, Moulvi Abid Ansari and Moulvi Imran Ansari also addressed the rallies. He said NC’s very presence on the political landscape of J&K has now become a permanent threat to the State’s peace and stability as the party has developed vested interest in violence and bloodshed. Sayeed said while despite all their violent machinations, NC leaders failed to suppress in South Kashmir the people’s yearning for change, it is now for the voters of Srinagar Parliamentary constituency to carry forward this movement for change in the interest of peace and economic prosperity. “The massive effort that had gone into creating a new atmosphere of peace, reconciliation and resolution in and around J&K seems at a real risk of going waste due to the violent machinations of NC,” he said adding that in the absence of a sustained political and administrative effort Kashmir is unfortunately sliding back into the vortex of violence perpetuated by NC and co.

Sayeed said it is now absolutely clear that the miseries the people of J&K have been undergoing for the past five decades are the outcome of the deceitful tactics resorted to by NC leaders in their lust for power. He cautioned that J&K could perhaps land up in a bigger trouble this time if NC is allowed to subvert the democratic institutions and processes, the way it did in 1987 in the run up to the worst ever political turmoil the State underwent for the past more than two decades. “But with the support of the people, PDP would fight every such move of the NC tooth and nail that is aimed at robbing the State’s people of their democratic rights,” he said. Sayeed said while the State as a whole has borne the brunt of NC’s exploitative politics, Srinagar city has become the main victim of development deficit and misgovernance during the past 6 years.  “If this historic city is facing a massive development crisis today, it is all because of NC, which has not been able to take the development discourse in Srinagar beyond lanes and drains,” he said and added it’s a shame to see that even a brief shower inundates the whole city, traffic jams make the life miserable and the socio-economic problems of the people are compounding with every passing day.

Sayeed said unfortunately the massive developmental interventions like Rapid Transport System, drainage network, institutional upgradation, beautification and conservation program for Dal and other water bodies initiated by the PDP government between 2002 and 2005 were put on backburner by the present regime.  “Earlier Omar Abdullah used to apologize for his grandfather’s fault of gifting J&K to India, his father’s baggage of implementing POTA, constituting Task Force, rigging elections, institutionalizing corruption, banning Shahtoosh and recruitments, now he (Omar) has to rightfully add his own non-performance to the list of apologies,” he said. Addressing the rallies, PDP senior Vice-President Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari said as a partner of the coalition government with Congress, PDP had pursued the goals and objectives set in the common minimum program for finding a peaceful resolution to the problems of the State, rolling back of the draconian laws and pursuing a healing touch policy in its dealings with the people. He said unfortunately, the National Conference has played the most intriguing role at the crucial phases of the State’s history to sabotage any solution to the problem. “As NC never believes in democracy and people’s verdict and has always resorted to manipulative and exploitative tactics to grab power, it is once again trying to take recourse to same tactics to tear down the democratic institutions in the State,” he said. “NC sold the very soul of the State by gifting water resources to the NHPC, which generated billions from it and J&K having steeped into perpetual darkness as a result”, Ansari said and added that Omar Abdullah had gone a step ahead of his father in handing over the fully operational Baghliar power project to NHPC within the first two months of assuming office. He said earlier Dr Farooq Abdullah had gifted seven power projects to NHPC in 2000 to please his BJP friends in NDA Government. He urged people to vote and support Tariq Hameed Karra, PDP candidate for Srinagar-Budgam Parliamentary constituency to send a strong representative voice to the Parliament. PDP leaders Mohammad Khursheed Alam, Syed Ahmad, Arshid Ahmad Dar, Bashir Ahmad Mir , Mushtaq Ah ZP, Mian Javid, Syed Irfan Naqashbani, and and others also spoke on the occasion. (KNS)