Srinagar, Dec 07: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Thursday reiterated the party’s resolve to “fight for the restoration of J&K’s abridged democratic rights”.
Addressing a party workers’ convention in Tral, Omar said he was fighting for the people of J&K and was not aiming for any chair. “I have been the chief minister of J&K for six years. It is not something which I aspire to become. I am fighting for a larger cause; it’s the restoration of our dignity, protection of our unique & historical identity and our abridged democratic rights. Violence has never been our forte, we will continue to fight democratically, constitutionally, legally, and peacefully. We won’t go back on our promises, we will continue with our struggle,” he said.
He further said that NC’s series of successful conventions has irked its political opponents whose political rallies fail to get traction. ” “Everyone is training guns on NC, be it a leader who had pinned his hopes on us for becoming Chief Minister or the ones who were either once part of PAGD or are still part of the formation. The groundswell of support for us seems to cause a lot of heartburn for these people,” he said.
Questioning the development claims of the BJP on the revocation of Art 370, the NC chief said, “Where is the promised development, job extravaganza and progress? Where is the investment? I didn’t see any new hospitals, colleges and industries coming up in Kashmir. What happened to those promises? When will they materialise?”
“Far from delivering on their claims, the ruling BJP government has plunged the people of J&K into an abyss of hopelessness. Our Gujjar brothers are being denied rights over forests. The shortage of basic utility services and the administrative deficit are taking a toll on us. People have no idea about where to go to redress their woes,” he added.
