Dooru (Anantnag), Jun 28: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Pulwama, Waheed ur Rehman Para, on Saturday accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of diluting Jammu and Kashmir people’s “collective struggle” for dignity and dialogue by limiting it to the demand for statehood.
Speaking to reporters at a party programme in Dooru, Para said, “Omar Abdullah, after securing 50 seats, has downgraded the entire narrative of our people’s struggle to just statehood. Unfortunately, we all contested elections on the promise of restoring Article 370 and special status. But once the assembly convened, the NC reduced its agenda to discussions on business rules, transfers, and statehood — which mirrors the BJP’s narrative.”
He called this shift “a huge departure from the National Conference’s principled stand”, adding, “From autonomy, they have now come down to statehood, which is exactly what the BJP demands. We also seek the return of statehood, but our core struggle is for the restoration of Article 370, for justice, for political dialogue, and the release of political prisoners.”
Drawing comparisons, the PDP leader said the hardships faced by people remain unchanged, with or without elections. “Employees were being terminated before and are being terminated now. Youth were in jails then and are still in jails. Political prisoners were shifted outside Kashmir earlier, and that continues. Properties were being attached then, and they still are. Unemployment persists. People are still being evicted from state land,” he said.
Para said that despite receiving such a massive mandate, all the MLAs are now only talking about transfers, postings, and statehood. “We say that statehood should be returned, but along with that, our basic struggle is for the return of Article 370, the release of our political prisoners, the revival of the political process, and the restoration of dialogue. That is the most important thing for all of us,” he said.
The MLA Pulwama slammed the government, saying that even after 7–8 months, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) has not been released. “This lies entirely within their hands,” he said.
Para said, “We are facing a dry spell. The biggest water crisis in Jammu and Kashmir right now is in irrigation and public health engineering. All the work that was being done in irrigation and Jal Shakti was also stopped by Omar Abdullah through the House Committee.”
He further added, “You can see the irrigation crisis yourself. It is the paddy season; our fields are dry, and the work that was supposed to be done is pending. Fifteen chief engineer postings are vacant at the moment, including the position of chief engineer in irrigation. Unfortunately, they want to sweep every issue under the carpet.”
