Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Sunday said if BJP’s claims of normalcy and development are true then why is GoI reluctant to hold elections in J&K?
He, according to the NC spokesperson, said this while addressing a one-day workers convention at Langate. The convention was organized by In Charge Constituency Langate Shafqat Watali. On the occasion,
Party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Senior leaders Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Sharief Ud Din Shariq, Shameema Firdous, Mir Saifullah and Javed Dar also addressed the gathering. State Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, Additional State Spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah, Women’s Wing Provincial President Sabia Qadri, youth leaders Nasir Lone, Zahid Mughal, Waqar Khan, Rabia Wani, DDC members were also present.
Contesting the claims of the government on development and normalcy, Omar said that the situation on the ground was in stark contrast to the claims that were made in the aftermath of Article 370 abrogation.
“Hoisting big flags everywhere cannot win people’s hearts. To win people’s hearts one has to understand their feelings, solve their problems, and reduce their suffering and their feelings and emotions. It has to be appreciated, that you cannot win the hearts of common people by keeping people locked up in jails for years. “The central government made a lot of propaganda about Article 370 which ultimately proved to be a lie and deception.” The whole world was told that Article 370 is a barrier to employment in Jammu and Kashmir, the root of bribery and corruption. It was further said that it helped separatists and militants. But it has been more than four years since the Article was abrogated. What has changed? If BJP has done development for J&K then why run from elections?” he said.
“Our people are struggling in every sphere of life whether it be availability of water, erratic power supply or unemployment. Our honour has been erased, our identity has been destroyed, what did the people here get in return for this except problems, difficulties and sufferings? Which young people are doing government jobs today? We were told that there will be no electricity cuts now. But the reality is for everyone to see. the daily lives of our people are crippled with unscheduled power cuts and long outages. This government has left no stone unturned in installing smart meters, but when it comes to ensuring electric supply, the administration turns volte-face,” he further added.
Taking a dig at BJP’s local cronies, Omar said, “I advise BJP’s A, B, C, and D teams to raise their voice against what is happening to Kashmiris in UP instead of opposing the National Conference. Use your influence to see how Kashmiris are called to police stations and harassed. If you can’t talk about Kashmiris, at least talk about the Muslims of UP, where anything with the stamp of halal is a crime now. You have given up on the restoration of Article 370, but why are you silent on other things? Just as we are demanding the return of electricity projects to improve the electricity system, who is stopping you from doing so? Don’t you see the people of Kashmir are suffering?”
