:Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Thursday said that the Congress party played a role in the revocation of Article 370, the stripping of J&K’s statehood, and its bifurcation into two Union Territories (UTs) on August 5, 2019. He also accused the elected J&K government of lacking the will to deliver effective governance to the people.
He made these remarks today while speaking to reporters after chairing the party’s provincial meeting in Jammu. The meeting aimed to review the current political scenario and discuss certain public issues and some important party matters.
When asked about the Congress party’s vigorous demand for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, “It is good that the Congress party is now demanding statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. But one could ask: why were they complicit in the stripping of this statehood in the first place? The undeniable fact is that the Congress played a role in the abrogation of Article 370, the stripping of statehood, and the bifurcation of J&K into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. All these changes could not have passed in the Rajya Sabha without the Congress party’s support.”
“The Congress was complicit on August 5, 2019. If they did not want to oppose the revocation of Article 370, they should have at least stopped the stripping of statehood. They had the power to prevent the government from removing J&K’s statehood and dividing it into two Union Territories,” he added.
Responding a question, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said that “After August 5, 2019, the Apni Party pursued three primary goals: the protection of land, and employment rights for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and the restoration of statehood. As far as the protection of the special rights of J&K’s people over land and jobs is concerned, we succeeded in ensuring that. However, our struggle for the restoration of statehood continues, and I assure the people that we will not rest until this right of the people of J&K is restored by New Delhi.”
In response to questions about the poor performance of the government in Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said that the elected government lacks the will to deliver effective governance.
He said, “Despite having more than 50 members in the Assembly, this government has failed to deliver—only because it lacks the will to provide effective governance to the people who voted for it.”
He also accused the ruling party of misleading the people with fake promises during the elections.
He said, “The ruling party leaders sought votes from the people by promising the restoration of Article 370 and statehood. They also promised to provide two lakh jobs soon after coming to power in J&K. In addition, they had boasted about offering 300 units of free electricity and 12 gas cylinders per year to consumers. All these promises were completely false and made only to grab votes.”
Replying a question, Apni Party President said, “Earlier, the people of Jammu and Kashmir used to be polarised along regional lines during elections. Unfortunately, this time, the BJP polarised them on a communal basis.”
Reiterating his demand for Urban Local Body (ULB) and Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure that these polls are held.
He said, “The ruling party does not want to share power with grassroots-level representatives—Panches and others—which is why it is avoiding these elections. I urge the Hon’ble Prime Minister to intervene and ensure that ULB and Panchayat polls are conducted, so that the people can be empowered through grassroots-level democracy.”
Replying to a question, he said, “Apni Party will support anything that is in favour of the well-being of Kashmiri Pandits, because they have suffered a lot over the years.”
Meanwhile, during the provincial-level meeting chaired by Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, thorough discussions were held on the prevailing political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. During the meeting, leaders raised several pressing public issues and also brought certain party matters to the attention of the Party President.
Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, the prominent party leaders who were present in the meeting included General Secretary Vijay Bakaya, Provincial President Manjit Singh, Provincial Senior Vice President Shah Mohammad Tantray, Provincial Vice president Arun Chibber, Provincial Vice President Saleem Choudhary, Provincial Secretary / In-charge Trade Wing Ajaz Kazmi, Coordinator/ In-charge Pir Panjal Arun Sharma, Provincial Secretary In-charge Minority Cell Balbir Singh Baba, District President Jammu (Urban) Abhay Bakaya, District President Kishtwar Mashood Mattoo, District President Doda Adil Wani, District President Jammu Rural (A) Pushp Dev Uppal, District President Jammu Rural (B) Advocate Harpreet Singh, District President Samba Raman Thapha, District President Rural ( Bani / Basohli ) Madan Lal Thakur, District President Rajouri Rural ( Nowshera / Kalakote ) Vicky Soodan, Provincial Jammu Spokesperson Advocate Sahil Bharti, Provincial Spokesperson Jammu Raqiq Khan, Provincial President Minority Wing Balbir Singh Baba , Provincial President Women Wing Jammu Pavneet Kour, Provincial Social Media In-charge Jammu Vaibhav Mattoo, Senior leader Bodhraj Baghat , Senior Leader Shankar Singh Chib, Rajkumar Lalotra, and others.
