Handwara, Apr 15: Reacting to National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah’s remark about working with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the People’s Conference (PC) Chairman Sajad Lone said on Monday Omar has a personal issue with the BJP, not their ideology of Hindutva.
This is also because the current BJP leaders neglect him, whereas Vajpayee accepted him, Lone said.
“Vajpayee then in parliament said if he had a full majority, they would have abrogated Article 370 and during his tenure several big things happened and no action has been initiated. Vajpayee himself rejected the internal autonomy resolution, he said, adding, “The NC is befooling people by saying they will bring back Article 370. I want to tell them only to tell people which way they will bring it back.”
When asked about Omar as his rival candidate, the PC chief said, “It is a do-or-die situation for NC, not for JKPC, as they (JKPC) have died several times in the past.”
“We have been tagged A, B, and C teams, several names in the past, and currently, their tagging hardly matters. We have lost the state and article. There have been no elections for several years when we will search for answers, I too have to answer as I have remained in power for two-and-half years,” Lone said.
But those who have remained in power for the last 30 years must be answerable, he said, adding, “I don’t have personal issues with NC, this party has remained in power for a long time.”
Sajad added, “They have three MPs in Parliament, have they ever talked about the youth of Kashmir who are being deprived of jobs despite cracking exams as their relatives have made mistakes by joining militant ranks? I am receiving such grievances regularly where young people are stating they are getting punishment for deeds when they were yet to be born, is anybody talking about it?”
The PC Chairman said he would speak about this in parliament, as no law says to punish a son for his father’s wrongdoings and a father for his son’s wrongdoings.
“The way youth are being treated in other parts of the country. I will fight for the same rights of our young people. When the opposition parties reach Delhi, they give us the Albarq tag, and when they reach Kashmir, they give us the BJP tag,” he said.
