Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading hatred and said that every Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Christian wants to live a life and visit their places of worship with dignity.
“We are talking about saving the Constitution of India. Be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and others, they want to live and visit their places of worship with dignity. An atmosphere of hatred has been created. But the National Conference and the INDIA bloc will not let it happen. (Will not allow to rewrite the Constitution). This is one of our major battles,” Abdullah, the National Conference President told reporters here.
Replying to a query, he said, “Anyone can hold you. The beard is being shaved off. (People are being) beaten with sticks. How can Farooq Abdullah, a Muslim, be safe. When will this get into their head that we are also Muslims of Hindustan”.
“Who conducted elections here in 1996 when insurgency was at its peak? National Conference was the only party that stood (against all the odds) to save the State. We have given sacrifices. Thousands of our workers and MLAs and the Ministers were killed. But we did not turn back,” he said.
Farooq Abdullah became Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir after the 1996 elections.
Replying to another query, he said, “I want to ask the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Is he the PM of 1.44 billion people or a few? When he goes abroad, he represents every citizen of the country. But the hatred he is spreading….Stop this hatred to save the Bharat”.
In 2019, polling for the Lok Sabha was held for six seats in Jammu and Kashmir. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, which resulted in the split of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, there is no longer a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Ladakh.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP won three seats, while the National Conference won the remaining three.
The PDP and NC, despite being allies in the opposition alliance INDIA bloc, have decided to go solo in the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The general elections are being held in seven phases in a six-week marathon running from April 19 to June 1.
The first phase of polling was held on April 19 and the second phase on April 26.
The next round of voting will be held on May 7.The counting of votes and results will be declared on June 4. (ANI)
