Srinagar, Mar 30: National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said that the flag of National Conference “symbolizes sacrifices” of many who gave their lives to end the ill-fortune Kashmiris faced for centuries.
He called for a “second revolution” to put up a joint effort to trounce the forces which he said are bent upon destroying the integrity and unique constitutional character of the state.
Addressing a gathering of party functionaries of Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, according to a party press release said, “The leadership of the country who liberated the nation from colonial clutches bequeathed us with a secular and progressive constitution. They idealized an idea of India that was deemed to be for all, where everyone lives with dignity; where caste and religion would not have fettered anyone’s socio-economic advancement.
“However there are forces as are disposed to tarnish the very secular visage of India. The agenda of BJP-RSS is all exclusive; they have all along shown consternation for the secular and progressive ideals of the constitution of India,” he said.
Underscoring the significance of the constitutional safeguards including Article 370, Article 35-A, Abdullah claimed that it was on the basis of these safeguards that National Conference was able to achieve a special dispensation for J&K.
“The Delhi Agreement streamlined the relation between Srinagar and New Delhi. But whatever we were able to achieve was eventually eroded by the successive governments of the state led by Bakshi and Sadiq. They had to implement the agenda of New Delhi because they drew their sustenance from them. They were bound to do so, being at their beck and call, they had no other choice,” Abdullah said.
He claimed that whenever NC was in power, there was no erosion, while “our absence from the power corridors gave all the forces that were inimical to the state’s unique character and integrity, a field day to fiddle with our status.”
He said what unfolded during the past few years during the PDP-BJP rule “bears my assertions out, be it the implementation of the National Food Security Act or GST.
“What was left of our special status in the shape of our fiscal autonomy was eroded by PDP. We have seen it all with our eyes. This should act as an eye opener to all,” he said.
Reacting to the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley’s assertions, Farooq Abdullah said, “Article 370 and Article 35-A sanctify the constitutional link between New Delhi and the J&K state. They are hell-bent to degrade our constitutional status; this assertion of his reveals their anti-Kashmir agenda.
“Kashmiris have lent immense sacrifices to throw the autocratic yolk away from the state. We have never allowed anybody to enslave us; we will never give up on that predilection of ours. We will fight for the unity and integrity of our state at any cost,” he said.
Targeting the arch rival PDP, he said in 2014, it canvassed to keep BJP out but eventually landed up in the lap of RSS-BJP. “Mufti Sayeed in his last days repented for his colossal mistake but that delayed repentance of his was of no help. His daughter followed her father’s suit and hobnobbed with BJP to keep her flock together. She hunkered down before BJP-RSS for the sake of power and chair.
“The countless miseries that were inflicted on Kashmiris in PDP-BJP government will take years to heal. Now Mehbooba Mufti is again up to the same gimmickry she masters, this time we should not fall prey to her theatrics,” he said.
Referring to the “mushrooming of parties” mostly one-man armies in every nook and corner of the state, he said, “My father Sher-e-Kashmir foretold about such mushrooming of leaders in every alley of Kashmir after his death. People who were seeking freedom until the recent past are now sitting with BJP-RSS. Today they are hobnobbing with them but time will come when they will also suffer at hands of their masters.”
Abdullah also targeted the Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was trying to portray himself as if Hindu deity Hanuman has come himself by pressing the button for the launch of A-SAT missile.
“All the credit is due to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the successful launch of A-SAT missile. It was Manmohan-ji who successfully launched the anti-Satellite Missile but he never took credit for it. When elections are around, he (Modi) pressed the button to show as if Hanuman-ji has come himself,” Abdullah said.
He said a similar button was pressed, which killed six Air Force personnel and a civilian, in an apparent reference to the Mi-17 chopper crash that took place in Budgam last month.
Abdullah also lashed at the PM for failing to create jobs for the people. “PM Modi had promised that he will give two crore jobs to the youth in a year, which makes 10 crore in five years. Where are those jobs? PM had also promised to reduce the price of petrol, diesel and, LPG but nothing happened,” Abdullah said.
The veteran NC leader said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which once had the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as its main issue, has forgotten about it after the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan.
“Many Indian soldiers were killed in Chhattisgarh but Modi-ji never went to meet their families. And when 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives he raised a storm over it,” he said.
