The very youth who trusted the ruling party and gave it a mandate, will now hold it accountable and vote it out of power: Ghulam Hassan Mir
JK News Today
Srinagar, July 7: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday said that “Apni Party is coming forward with a new vision and strategy to ensure that Jammu & Kashmir’s lost dignity, status, and respect are restored, and that a brighter, more prosperous, and dignified future for its youth is secured.”
He made these remarks today while addressing a workers’ convention in Hajin Sonawari in Bandipora district.
The event, which was attended by a large number of people—men and women, young and old—was organised by the party’s in-charge for the Sonawari constituency, Imtiyaz Paray.
The party’s Senior Vice President, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Provincial President for Kashmir, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, and several other leaders also addressed the convention.
Addressing the gathering, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said that he feels pained to see the helplessness of people, especially the youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “I wonder how long our people will have to suffer. How long will FIRs continue to be registered against our youth, and how long will they be repeatedly summoned to police stations? On the one hand, our youth are living under a sense of insecurity; on the other, they are grappling with the lack of livelihood opportunities and rising unemployment. Our youth deserve a life of dignity, security, and hope for the future.”
Taking a dig at the National Conference for making people suffer by repeatedly changing its political positions and slogans over the past seven decades, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, “In 1947, the National Conference leadership took a decision and was rewarded with power. But just six years later, when that power was taken away, the same leadership backtracked from his own earlier decision. Then, another 22 years later, in 1975, it made yet another U-turn. For decades, this changing politics and constant political wandering came at a heavy cost to the people. They were left to suffer while the party kept changing its positions and slogans according to the political situation.”
“But the story did not end there. Even after 1975, the NC continued to raise different slogans, at one time demanding autonomy and at another time taking a different position. At the same time, it did not hesitate to support New Delhi in gradually weakening Article 370, which had provided Jammu and Kashmir with special constitutional status,” he added.
He also lashed out at the PDP, saying that another family-based party later came up with a different slogan, calling it “Self-Rule”. He said that over the years, these family-based parties built political empires for themselves and enjoyed power, while the people were left to suffer.
“How long will the people continue to suffer?” he asked.
Speaking about the Apni Party’s vision, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, “We want to give solace to the people and help them come out of this miserable situation. People are made to suffer every now and then, and this must end. Apni Party is coming forward with a new vision and strategy to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s lost dignity, status and respect, and to secure a brighter, more prosperous and dignified future for its youth.”
Talking about the 2024 Assembly elections, he said, “Apni Party could not make it in these elections because, unlike other parties, we did not lie to the people. Our politics is rooted in truthfulness and integrity. Despite the fact that August 5, 2019, will remain a black day for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and despite the wounds inflicted on us by New Delhi, we have maintained that the solutions to our problems will also come from New Delhi and not from anywhere else. We will continue to say this.”
He said that traditional political parties have always misled the youth with deceptive slogans and continue to push them towards the same path that brought misery and bloodshed in the past, simply because such politics serves their political interests and yields electoral dividends.
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari explained how and why the Apni Party was established.
He said that after the events of August 5, 2019, when the entire J&K was under continuous lockdown, thousands of people were detained in jails, and traditional political parties chose to remain silent during those challenging times, we, like-minded leaders, decided to come forward and stand by our people.
“At that time, people were frustrated and deeply distressed, especially as their children were being arrested. Orchardists were equally worried because their fruit-laden trucks were not being allowed to move on the highways, and their produce had started to rot. We stepped forward, spoke to the Government of India, and worked to secure relief for the people. As a result, fruit-laden trucks were allowed to move towards mandis outside J&K, more than 3,000 youth were released from jails, and we also worked to ensure that the people of J&K retained their exclusive rights over land and jobs,” he said.
He further said that traditional political parties chose to remain silent at that time, just as they have recently chosen to remain silent after the violent incidents in south Kashmir, when thousands of people were called to police stations and detained. “These parties have once again chosen to remain silent on the issue,” he said.
On the occasion, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also highlighted the local issues faced by people in Hajin and the adjoining areas.
He urged the administration to take concrete measures to improve basic public infrastructure. He said it was unfortunate that people were still being denied basic amenities such as a reliable water supply and uninterrupted electricity, while hospitals continued to lack adequate infrastructure and the required professional manpower.
He said that once the Apni Party comes to power, it will ensure that the residency requirement for obtaining a domicile is increased from the existing 15 years to 50 years.
He also said that the Apni Party will ensure that local people who have traditionally earned their livelihood through the manual extraction of minerals from rivers are given this right back, instead of allowing outsiders to extract minerals worth millions of rupees from these rivers.
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari reiterated his appeal to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of the country to fulfil their promise of engaging with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the youth, in a meaningful dialogue to understand and address their issues and concerns.
He said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve the same constitutional rights as people in any other part of the country. It is imperative for the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister to fulfil their promise of engaging with the people, especially the youth, through a meaningful dialogue aimed at understanding their genuine concerns and finding ways to address them.”
Speaking on the occasion, Ghulam Hassan Mir lashed out at the government for its failure to address the growing unemployment crisis in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “Two years have passed since they took over the government. Can they point to a single project or any concrete initiative undertaken by this government to create employment opportunities for our youth? They sought people’s votes by making a number of promises, including a commitment to provide jobs to unemployed youth, but they have miserably failed to deliver on those promises.”
He added, “I want to tell this government that it has miserably failed on every front to provide effective governance. The ruling party misled the people with false promises during the 2024 election campaign. Now, it should be prepared for the consequences. The very youth who trusted you and gave you their mandate, believing that you would fulfil your promises, will hold you accountable and vote you out of power.”
Mir also accused the government of depriving people of their democratic right to choose their representatives at the grassroots level by delaying the ULB and Panchayat elections. He said that by failing to hold these elections, the government was effectively disempowering people and denying them their right to participate in local democratic governance.
He appealed to the people to free themselves from traditional political parties like the NC, which have been exploiting them for decades.
Adressing the gathering Mohammad Ashraf Mir said that those who have remained at the helm of affairs for years and decades have failed to fulfil their responsibilities towards Jammu and Kashmir and its people. Had they been sincere and genuinely committed leaders, the people of J&K would not have been facing the situation we are grappling with today.
Besides Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Ghulam Hassan Mir and Mohammad Ashraf Mir, the prominent party leaders who were present on the occasion included District President Ganderbal Javaid Mir, State Secretary Irshad Wani, Senior Vice District President Bandipora Ghulam Mohammad Mir, District Vice President Bandipora Abdul Raheem, Joint Secretary Bandipora Mir Muzaffar, Youth District President Bandipora Shiraz Wani, Senior Leader Bandipora Constituency Naseer Ahmad Mir, Party Leader and Former Chairman Municipal Committee Bandipora Bashrat Najar, Zonal President Sonawari Habibullah Sheikh, Block President Ajas Manzoor Ahmad, Block President Hajin Ghulam Mohammad Dar, Block President Nowgam Sajad Ahmad Dar, Block President Ganistan Muzaffar Ahmad, Block President Naidkhai Abdul Qayoom, Vice Block President Hajan Farooq Ahmad Dar, Former DDC Hajin (B) Nazia Begum, Former DDC Hajin (C) Farzil Ahmad Dar, Former BDC Nahidkah Ghulam Nabi Ganaie, Former Vice Chairman MC Hajin Waseem Yusuf Paray, Block President Youth Ajas Mohammad Iqbal, Block President Youth Sumbal Ishfaq Ahmad, Dice In-charge Sarfaraz Ahmad Paray, Nasir Ahmad Mir, office In-charge Sonwari Fayaz Ahmad, and others.
