Srinagar, Apr 27: National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that J&K does not face as much threat from the neighboring country as it faces from the forces within, which are hell-bent to destroy the special status of the state.
Addressing a public meet in Kund Devsar, the former chief minister said anyone holding a public post – “whether a governor or a chief minister in our state has to take oath on state’s constitution. However, anti-J&K forces are not able to digest that realism. This has become a scorn in the eyes of those forces as have revived their vows to destroy the special constitutional position of our state in their manifesto.”
“They fail to understand that the erstwhile Dogra ruler Hari Singh didn’t merge with the union, he had only acceded with the dominion of India on three subjects. While as the rest of princely state’s subsequently merged with the Indian union, the state of Jammu and Kashmir chose not to sign the merger papers. Our leadership had long-drawn discussions with the GoI, the outcome of these negotiations came forth in the shape of Delhi Agreement,” Omar Abdullah said.
“Our state under the undisputable leadership of Sher-e-Kashmir was able to secure itself a state flag and a special status within the Union of India,” he said, adding “today we see forces are hell-bent to destroy the state’s special position contrive hard to do away with the constitutional provisions of Article 370 and Article 35-A that confer special status to our state.
“The fact remains that Maharaja would not have signed Instrument of Accession had New Delhi not given an undertaking to protect the individual character of the state. Those who are questioning the vitality of Article 370, Article 35-A, are unwaveringly questioning the rudiments of accession of the state with the Union of India. Any assault on the special status of our sate will without doubt cast a shadow on the fundamentals of accession,” the former chief minister said.
Underscoring the need of sending a credible and strong voice to Lok Sabha, Omar said, “The ensuing elections provide us an opportunity to send a person to parliament who could debate on the issues pertaining to our state, the one who could fight for our unique identity and special status within the union. Keeping in view the challenges our state is facing, we chose to field Justice (retd) Hassnain Masoodi from the Anantnag seat. He has the necessary political acumen to fight for our state. A legal luminary, Masoodi Sahib is the most suitable person to represent us in the parliament.”
Omar also said that the others who are in the fray for Anantnag parliamentary seat “lack on all fronts” to take on the challenges the state is facing.
“On one side we have a Congress candidate, who if elected to parliament cannot take on the forces as aggressively as Masoodi Sahib can. The Congress candidate would obviously be bound by the party’s diktats. Moreover much of the state’s special status was obliterated by the Congress party only, and whatever was left was subsequently surrendered by PDP before BJP for the lust of power,” Omar said.
“We have Mehbooba-ji in the fray as well, whose political slyness and bankruptcy is known to all. How can she raise voice for state in parliament when she couldn’t do that in 2008 when the sate was in flames because of Amarnath Land agitation? At that time we remember her saying ‘Kya bolu yaar!’. What purpose will it serve us to send her? She is the one who bolted her mouth when Kashmiris were facing torments in 2016 and 2017. We didn’t see her raise voice for the suffering masses of Kashmir, in particular the people of south Kashmir.
“During that time we only saw her mocking the miseries of people with her crude and unkind ‘milk and toffee’ remarks. People remember how she had barefacedly said that the guns of the forces are not for display but action. So, at this moment the people have to make a correct judgment to choose from the three contestants.
“Here we have Masoodi Sahib whose pronounced judgments on Article 370 are known to all. Masoodi Sahib, has no personal axe to grind, he will work both inside and outside parliament to safeguard our special status,” he said adding “Mehbooba’s own brother didn’t cast his ballot in her favor, how can a common Kashmiri repose his faith in her when her own brother didn’t!”
