Srinagar/Jammu: Apni Party on Wednesday celebrated its 3rd foundation day anniversary in all the assembly constituencies across the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir.
The party marked the occasion with a pledge that it will fulfill its commitments, which it made to the masses on the day of its inception —on March 8, 2020.
These commitments include that the party will strive for the restoration of statehood to J&K, holding of immediate assembly elections, and women empowerment, a press note issued here said.
“Apni Party celebrated its foundation day across all the assembly constituencies —from Uri to Kathua — as it wanted to get connected with the masses through these celebrations. Also, the party wanted people’s input to know how to give a firm push to the party’s three-point agenda, which is the restoration of statehood, holding of assembly polls, and women empowerment —as this day is also being celebrated as ‘International women’s day’,” the press note said.
“The party was founded by Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari and his colleagues with an ambitious agenda at a time when J&K’s traditional leaders were under house arrest. At that time people desperately needed a leader to stand by them and take the lead and give them sympathy, emotional support, and encouragement. It was a time when the political vacuum was adding to the adversities of the people in both the regions —Kashmir Valley, and Jammu. Most horribly, it was a time when a conflict was brewing up between the communities, regions, and sub-regions of Jammu and Kashmir,” it added.
According to the press note, on the party’s 3rd foundation day anniversary, Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari while addressing a rally at Housing Colony in Sanat Nagar Srinagar, said, “After the foundation of Apni Party, the first challenge before us was to bring a ray of hope in the gloom because the hopelessness in any place always consumes its people with depression. Since the situation at that time was too critical to be ignored, we decided to stand with the people and devised our own strategic vision to ensure people could feel that someone is there to stand by them. It was a time when people were in ever-darkening gloom because the abrogation of Article 370 had inflicted helplessness and a state of despair on them.”
“We shared the pain of the people, but a way had to be found to address their issues as well. Therefore, we decided not to choose confrontational politics. We knew confrontational politics would have not helped the people and also it would have deepened the political vacuum in J&K,” he added.
Bukhari reiterated the Apni Party’s demand for holding assembly elections immediately in J&K. “Holding of assembly elections with any further delay, is also important for protecting the democratic credentials of our country. Holding assembly elections without any further delay is a constitutional obligation for the Centre Govt and Election Commission of India (ECI), thus, doing so will not be a risk but a reward for the Govt and ECI,” he said.
On the occasion of Apni Party’s foundation day anniversary, its Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir while addressing a rally in north Kashmir’s Kunzar Tangmrg said, “From the day one of its inception, Apni Party has been standing by all its commitments, and it will continue to stand by these commitments. When the Apni Party started with the promise to fight for the restoration of statehood, we were mocked by some parties and individuals saying that the Centre has already promised that it will restore statehood to J&K. But, now more than three years down the line, the same critics have come round to the point that a struggle had to be launched to achieve this goal.”
Similarly, celebrations were held in Jammu region’s Samba, Kathua, Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, Ramban, Doda, and Kishtwar districts and all the tehsil headquarters.
