Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leaders Monday intensified their campaign in Budgam, calling upon the people to deliver a decisive mandate in favour of the party’s candidate, Aga Syed Mehmood.
Addressing a series of public meetings across Budgam constituency, Chief Spokesperson and MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, Central Zone President and MLA Chadoora Ali Muhammad Dar, MLA Sonawari Hilal Akbar Lone, MLA Khansahib Saif-ud-Din Bhat, and District President Budgam G.N. Bhat urged people not to fall into the “trap” being laid by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which they said is attempting to “hide its failures from 2014 to 2018 behind a smokescreen of rhetoric.”
The leaders criticized PDP President Mehbooba Mufti for what they termed as her “hypocritical” stance before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, where she urged for the transfer of undertrial prisoners from outside jails back to J&K. “It is ironic that most of these prisoners were shifted out during the PDP-led government. Between April 2016 and August 2017, over 1,000 youth were booked under the PSA during Mehbooba Mufti’s tenure,” they said.
The NC leaders further said that the people have not forgotten the suffering inflicted during that period. “People know who ordered the use of pellets on innocent youth in 2016. They remember who imposed GST, breaking the backbone of artisans, and who enforced the Food Security Act that snatched away the basic rights of the poor. No theatrics can absolve the PDP of its dark legacy or its opportunistic alliance with the BJP,” they said.
Reaffirming the National Conference’s commitment to defending the rights and dignity of the people, the leaders said,
“Those who collaborated with the BJP in disempowering our people are now trying to return wearing new masks. The people of Budgam will not be deceived again. Our struggle is for the restoration of dignity, rights, and identity of Jammu and Kashmir and the National Conference will continue to lead that fight with honesty, courage, and conviction.”
They appealed to the people of Budgam to remain vigilant against divisive forces and unite under the National Conference’s banner to secure a strong, stable, and people-centric government in Jammu and Kashmir.
