Srinagar, Mar 08: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday criticised traditional political parties and their leaders, asserting that they have “consistently misled innocent people through emotional sloganeering and political manoeuvring”. He said the parties that formed the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), supposedly to get back the abrogated Article 370, have now themselves “buried this so-called alliance”.
Bukhari made these comments while addressing an event organised at the party headquarters here. This event, according to a party statement, was aimed at giving a warm welcome to several prominent political leaders who formally joined the Apni Party. The joiners included Syed Muzamil Rizvi, who was the president of Central Kashmir and Media In Charge for Aam Aadmi Party, as well as Bashir Ahmad Qureshi and Mohammad Rafiq Raina, both well-known political activists.
According to the press release, Altaf Bukhari addressed the occasion and gave a warm welcome to the new entrants. He said, “I wholeheartedly welcome you to the Apni Party. Unlike traditional political parties, the Apni Party’s politics are based on truth and honesty. We do not mislead or lie to the people for our political gains. I assure you that this party will provide you with the opportunity to serve the people, and I am sure that your joining will further strengthen the party in your respective areas.”
Taking a dig at the traditional political parties and their leaders, the Apni Party chief said, “These parties and their leaders have always lied to the people and misled them through fake promises and emotional sloganeering only to attain power and riches for themselves. Take the example of the PAGD, which was created by these parties post-August 2019, saying that this so-called alliance would bring back the abrogated Article 370. Even these parties sought people’s votes based on this promise during the DDC elections. However, just four years down the line, the so-called alliance partners have themselves buried this alliance, and that too without bothering to perform its last rites.”
“In fact, this so-called alliance was created solely to mislead the people and gain electoral dividends, and now it has been abandoned once again for political gain,” he added.
Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, the prominent party leaders who were present on the occasion included the party’s Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir, Provincial President Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Senior Leader and Former Mayor of Srinagar Junaid Azim Mattu, Chief Spokesperson and State Secretary Muntazir Mohiuddin, Media Advisor Farooq Andrabi, Provincial Vice President Syed Muzaffar Rizvi, District President Kupwara Raja Manzoor, General Secretary of the party’s ST Wing Khalid Badhana, party in charge for Srinagar’s Zadibal constituency Masrat Ali Zaildar, Zone In charge Zadibal Khaas, In charge of Charar-i-Sharief constituency Mushtaq Zuhami, and others.
