Srinagar: People’s Conference (PC) chief Sajad Lone on Sunday said the National Conference has also committed all the “sins” the BJP has against the people of Kashmir and said its leaders will be held accountable.
“The NC talks about (Article) 370, but when someone talks about something, shouldn’t we see their history?… In the last 30 years, about one lakh people have died, not because of any disease or Covid or old age. They died because of bullets,” Lone claimed.
He accused the NC of “killing” thousands, sanctioning 16,000 cases under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and bringing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002.
“How can they say they are pained because of revocation of (Article) 370 or will bring it back?” he said.
“Let the NC tell us one sin that the BJP has committed against Kashmiris, but which it (the NC) has not. The NC has also done all the wrongs that the BJP has,” the People’s Conference chief said.
Lone said if any of his party leaders visit Delhi, the NC accuses them of holding secret meetings with the Centre, “but even if they (NC) sit in their (BJP’s) laps, they say they are trying to save the nation”.
“They were in foreign ministry only to save the nation. They are allowed to do anything, but we cannot,” he said, taking a dig at NC vice-president Omar Abdullah.
Abdullah was the Union Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Lone warned that times have changed and the NC leadership will face the consequences for its acts.
The People’s Conference chief asked the people to bring about a change in themselves and discourage politicians who lie.
“Politicians lie, it is 99 percent true. It happens everywhere, whether in America or London. But, people there bring down the politicians who do so. Our problem here is that we do not want to hear the truth and vote for those who lie. More the lies, the more votes. Unless you bring about a change in yourselves, we (politicians) will continue to lie,” he said.
Earlier, NC leader Manzoor Ahmed Wani joined the People’s Conference. He was the NC candidate from Khansahib and had secured around 16,000 votes in the 2014 Assembly elections.
