Kulgam, May 23: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah questioned the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks on Mian Altaf Ahmed, the NC candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency.
“Mehbooba Ji, if Mian Sahab isn’t from here (Anantnag-Rajouri seat), then please explain: when I contested my second parliamentary election from Srinagar and you were my rival candidate, how were you considered local then and Mian Sahab is not now?” he asked.
Omar said that Mian Altaf is as local to this constituency as Mehbooba is. He noted that in parliamentary elections, a candidate cannot have their home in all 18 constituencies.
“Mehbooba Ji is from Pahalgam, Bijbehara Anantnag. Doesn’t Mian sb have relatives in Rajouri or Kokernag? If Mian sb isn’t from here, then please explain to me, Mehbooba ji: when I was contesting my second parliament election from Srinagar, and you were my rival candidate, how were you considered local then and Mian sb is not now? When the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed sb contested from R S Pora or UP, he was considered local, but Mian sb isn’t for the Anantnag-Rajouri? Mehbooba ji has nothing substantial to say about Mian sb. Can she accuse him of taking a single penny as a bribe, abusing anyone, or taking anyone’s land or job? Wherever Mian sb has served, he has done so with dedication to the people,” he added.
The former chief minister said the campaign has been unnecessarily long. “The Anantnag-Rajouri seat should never have been postponed. They gave the excuse of whether but it was delayed to allow the Home Minister to visit. Let’s leave it; what’s done is done. The campaign will end, and on May 25, people will cast their votes. I urge the voters of Anantnag, Rajouri, Poonch, Kulgam, and Zainapora to come out in numbers, exercise their right, and choose the ‘plough’ so that Mian Altaf can serve them,” he said.
The NC leader asked, “What has this government brought us—except disappointment and harassment? Today, we don’t even have the freedom to speak. They are taking youth out of J&K and filling jails elsewhere.”
“The National Conference promises not just to talk about individual prisoners but to bring back all those languishing in jails outside J&K and start their release process. We must protect our land and fight for the return of what was taken from us on August 5, 2019,” Omar said.
