Srinagar: Kashmir’s politics is not the fiefdom of any single party, and those who “erroneously assume so” do so at their own peril, PDP MLA Waheed Para said on Sunday, accusing the ruling National Conference (NC) of political opportunism.
The Pulwama MLA’s remarks came in response to reported comments by the NC on speculation that Ruwa Shah, granddaughter of late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, may join the PDP.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq had said that if Shah was trying to mislead people by doing politics in the name of her grandfather, it was wrong.
In a post on X, Para accused the NC of taking contradictory positions on Kashmir’s political future for electoral gains.
“In Kashmir, the National Conference advocated two opposite ends of the political spectrum, from pro-Pakistan plebiscite to pro-India secession, purely out of political expediency. Their top leadership once garlanded Jinnah with a string of shoes, only to wave Pakistani salt during elections to trick gullible voters,” he said.
Para said the NC spoke of mainstream and reconciliation in the same breath, but reacted strongly when news emerged of a young Kashmiri woman entering politics.
“@ShahRuwa hasn’t just inherited a rich political legacy but suffered immense tragic personal losses. From seeing her grandfather’s own journey spanning from a mainstream electoral politician to a hardcore separatist, helplessly seeing her father take his last breaths in jail to being indiscriminately targeted and deprived to mourn losses,” he said.
The PDP MLA questioned why Shah’s possible entry into politics should evoke what he described as “petty insecurity” and “appalling ad hominem remarks”.
“Kashmir’s politics isn’t the fiefdom of any single party. And who erroneously assume so do it only at their own peril,” he added.