Srinagar, May 19: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Sunday said that the National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have a long history of deceptions.
“The leaders of these parties created empires and established their family rule here by deceiving innocent people who had placed their trust in these leaders,” he said while addressing a party convention at Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
In his speech, the Apni Party president said that the dynastic rule has caused intense damage to the interests of Jammu and Kashmir and its people over the past seventy years. He urged people to use the power of their vote to rid themselves of the clutches of these traditional parties and their leaders.
Talking about his and his colleagues’ association with the PDP in the past, Bukhari said, “We had joined the PDP with the aim of combating NC’s decades-long dynastic rule, which we believed was harming the interests of J&K and its people. The founding leader of the PDP claimed that he believed in democratic values and was thus against dynastic politics. We trusted him, not knowing that he too was pursuing the establishment of his own family rule here. We were utterly shocked to see that while passing away from this world, he did not forget to hand the reins of the party to none other than his own daughter. At that moment, we realised that another political dynasty had been established. Now, his daughter is grooming her own daughter to inherit the legacy of khandani raj.”
The Apni Party chief said during his tenure in the PDP, he strictly opposed the idea of forming a coalition government with the BJP. “I strongly tried to convince him, even using some harsh words to emphasize that this decision was not right. Finally, he joined hands with the BJP, and the rest is history,” he said.
He said that J&K people can never forget the deaths of children, caused by the use of extreme force in the PDP government. He also blamed the traditional parties, especially the NC and PDP for befooling people by claiming that their “People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD)” would restore the abrogated Article 370 and 35A.
Bukhari accused the NC of deceiving people through its “misleading narratives” and “emotional slogans” for the past more than seventy years. “They can go to any extent for the sake of power,” he said.
Bukhari promised that the Apni Party, once it receives the public mandate to serve, will ensure the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, the release of prisoners, the revocation of AFSPA, and the issuance of police verification reports to job aspirants and the passport seekers without any hindrance, alongside various other commitments.
