JK News Today
SURANKOTE OCTOBER 21
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Friday asked PDP-BJP coalition to stop reign of repression and coercion unleashed against entire population in the Valley, lest the situation takes such an ugly turn that will be beyond control of the governments at Srinagar and in New Delhi to handle.
“Enough is enough”, Dr Abdullah said while referring to killings and large scale arrests being made on daily basis in mistaken belief of quelling the ongoing unrest, which he described as people’s anger against betrayal of the PDP by joining hands with the BJP.
Dr Farooq Abdullah was addressing workers at Surankote this afternoon on the conclusion of his four-day visit to border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
He said normalcy cannot be restored by subjecting people to harassment and intimidation or by rehabilitating jails with thousands of innocents. “Peace shall remain a distant dream unless New Delhi addresses the root cause by assuaging political aspirations of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh”, he said while reminding the promises made with people of the state in 1947. He referred to the statement of former Sadr-e-Riyasat Dr Karan Singh in Parliament recently on the Instrument of Accession and said the younger generation has at least come to know the terms of accession and circumstances that led to its inking by Maharaja Hari Singh.
The NC chief cautioned the central leadership against crucial delay in reaching out to the people and making sincere efforts in resolving political problem of Kashmir, saying the grim situation in the Valley calls for winning over hearts and minds. “People’s trust and confidence cannot be won by pellet guns or putting youth behind bars”, he said, wondering that instead of showing semblances of civility and compassion, the government is indulging in provocations. “How can they expect students to appear for examinations with many of them being in jails. He said the situation in the Valley is worse, as people are suffering for want of basics, medicare being the worst-hit.
Dr Farooq Abdullah said that continued unrest has unnerved the ruling coalition, which in a bid to divert the attention from current alarming situation is brazenly dividing people on the basis of region and religion. The RSS, he said, is encouraging polarisation, which is against the idea of secular and inclusive Jammu and Kashmir. He lamented that despite making anti-BJP plank its core in 2014 election campaign, the PDP turned out a biggest facilitator for RSS to play its dubious role in the state.
He urged the people to guard against polarising people in the name of region and religion while reminding them of the sacrifices offered by National Conference to maintain amity and tranquillity even in most turbulent situations. “This spirit will continue to guide our political odyssey”, he said adding that unity in diversity is greatest strength of Jammu and Kashmir.
General Secretary, Mr Ali Mohammed Sagar, Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Provincial President Jammu, Mr Devender Rana, State Vice President and former minister, Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, MLA Mr Javed Rana, Provincial Youth National Conference President Mr Ajaz Jan besides Mr Bashir Ahmed Wani, Mr Rahim Daad, Mr Sajjad Shaheen and senior party functionaries of Poonch were present on the occasion.