Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 19: Senior National Conference leader and Member Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Mohamamd Shafi has said that senior Congress leader, M L Fotedar has distorted the contents of the 1975 accord to oppose the Autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir as demanded by National Conference.
“The accord in fact, provides the basis for restoring Autonomy as envisaged in Article 370 of the Constitution of India. National Conference in its manifestoes for election since 1977 onwards has been persistently demanding the restoration of Autonomy to the State in its original form,” Shafi said in a statement today.
“Is it not a fact that former Prime Minister of India P V Narasimha Rao announced in the Parliament that to resolve the Kashmir issue “sky is the limit” so far as granting Autonomy to the State within the Constitution of India is concerned? Also in 1996, the then PM of India Deve Gowda made an announcement in the Parliament that the Union of India would restore Autonomy to the State as per the Constitution of India,” the statement said.
The statement added: “It was after this announcement that National Conference participated in the Assembly elections in 1996 and thereafter, a resolution was passed in the Assembly by 2/3 majority for restoring Autonomy to the State in its original form as per Article 370 of the Constitution of India”.
Any attempt, the statement said, to dis-inform the public about National Conference’s stand is bound to fail. “One would only suggest that Fotedar should find some other issue or non-issue to make himself relevant to his friends for whom he has been lobbying in the Congress party circles.”
Slamming Fotedar for his role in in destabilizing political situation in the State since 1953, the statement said that such political lackeys have no role to play in the prevailing situation in the State.
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