Srinagar, Apr 09: National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be remembered for “forgotten promises, lies and showmanship”.
Addressing two separate public campaign rallies at Hazratbal and Charar-e-Sharief, the former chief minister said that no election is as important as is the ensuing one since it will decide if this country will run by the ideals of constitution or not.
“The constitution of the country assures everyone a dignified life, it gives equal respect and equal opportunities to all without the prejudices of caste, class, ethnicity or race. However, the incumbent government does not think on these lines, their idea of nation-state is fraught with malice and religious prejudices. They nurture hate for minorities, particularly Muslims,” he said, adding “now it is up to us to ensure if we want to live in a secular India or an India that is infested by bigotry and communalism.
“The opportunity is tapping our door; we should make the most of it and give India a responsible, secular progressive government.”
He said Kashmir has to take a lead in this direction “primarily to save our special status, our identity, and secondarily to ensure that the secular visage of the country is restored.”
Referring to the BJP manifesto, Abdullah said that it is a repetition of the same promises which they miserably failed to implement on ground for past five years.
PM Modi’s “tenure shall be remembered for forgotten promises, lies and showmanship,” he said.
“They had promised to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits back in the valley. Where they able to do so? The other day a Kashmiri Pandit visited me and recounted how BJP ditched his community. The Pandit was mulling to shift to Kashmir and therefore had expected some monetary help from government, however to his dismay his pleas had no takers. This is just a case in point. There are numerous such Pandit families who actually wanted to move but find it difficult due to lack of government support.
“BJP only wants the votes of Pandits, rest there wasn’t any initiative rolled out by the centre to get them back to their homes. The other day many Pandits, who work here, visited me and narrated how they have been thrown out of their government accommodations. This deflates the much-touted promise BJP had made in its earlier manifesto.
“The repetition of the promises by BJP in its manifesto testifies to the fact that it has failed to deliver on it for five years. People won’t fall prey to it now. They have seen it all with their eyes,” he said.
Abdullah said on one hand Arun Jaitely and Rajnath Singh say that Article 370 and Article 35-A have to go, but on the other hand the Governor says it will remain; so who should be believed.
“Other day an educated boy from a district (Ganderbal) that has never seen violence gave his life at Kulgam; he could not bear the injustices that are being meted out to his countrymen. The repression, intimidation has to stop, otherwise it would be difficult to win the hearts and bridge the gaps.”
NC president while rejecting the allegations of appropriating wealth said, “The property I have at Gupkar was purchased by my father after selling our family property at Soura. The property I have at Tangmarg belonged to my late mother who had acquired it from her father. Had I appropriated wealth I would have been an Ambani, but unlike BJP leaders who are millionaires, I prefer to live a life by honest means. On the contrary it is the BJP that has to answer the nation on Rafael deal. The country wants to know the facts.”
Abdullah said that the development of the state became the first casualty after BJP came to power in the Center. “Where are Rs 80000 crores? Mehbooba-ji, on the floor of assembly maintained that her government only got ten thousand crores. What have they done for our state? People want to know. How many jobs were they able to give to our youth?
“People know nothing happened for the last five years; on the contrary plethora of miseries were unleashed on our people,” he said.
Farooq Abdullah, who is seeking re-election from the Srianagar parliamentary constituency said that the issue of J&K is a political one, and it has to be solved politically.
“It is a political solution that we aspire for. The issue is in the UN also. Those who think Article 370 is temporary are right — it is until a plebiscite held in the state. The political settlement of the issue is yet to be done. We aren’t asking for anything new. We are asking for our rights. Article 370 is temporary until plebiscite is done,” he said.
