Vested interests oppose revocation of draconian laws: NC

Azad entitled to his own views on AFSPA
Srinagar: Reacting to the statement made by Union Health Minister in which he ruled out the possibility of revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference Tuesday said that partial revocation is in the interest of Government of India and if it still does not revoke this draconian act then it will waste the efforts of those institutions and people who played a key role in establishing peace in the State.
Member Parliament and senior National Conference leader, Dr Mehboob Beigh told Srinagar based news gathering agency CNS that there are certain vested interests who oppose the revocation of AFSPA as it suits them. “Government of India should break this nexus and should expose these vested interests. It should follow the policies of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who broke the nexus between vested interests and developed good relations with Pakistan,” he said.
“Ghulam Nabi Azad is a senior politician and he entitled to his express his own views but I stand for my party and reiterate that time has come for AFSPA to go. Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is of the opinion that partial revocation of this draconian act in certain parts of Jammu and Kashmir has become inevitable and God forbid, if situation worsens in any area, it can be re-imposed,” he said adding that history is witness to the fact that in conflict areas vested interests always want to keep pot boiling.
Dr Mehboob Beigh told CNS that he fails to understand why Government is India is not serious in revoking AFSPA from the State when situation is peaceful in Valley. “When we compare present situation of Valley to 1990’s, we find hell of difference. There is normalcy everywhere and peace has returned to Valley,” he said adding that there is no justification in keeping AFSPA intact in Valley. (CNS)