Irfan Tramboo
Independent candidate from Srinagar Parliamentary constituency, Dr Qazi Ashraf, said that his party’s main focus is to safeguard the future of the young generation in Kashmir.
In an exclusive interview to the Excelsior, Qazi, who is Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir United Front, accused the traditional political leaders of lacking political decision.
“I don’t want to see what happened to us happening to the new generation. For that, political decision-making is crucial. Such decisions will safeguard the future of the young generation. That has been the reason,” he added.
The Independent candidate said that his priority is participation in political decision-making and economic restructuring.
“It is not important to have different manifestos; what is needed is the willpower and clarity of thought. Our party has that. Our mission focuses on a few key areas, and we do not go beyond that. Participation in political decision-making and economic restructuring are our priorities.
Qazi said that for economic restructuring, energy is needed in the form of cheap electricity, but in J&K, it is not there. “There is an energy deficit, and on top of that, they are talking about creating jobs, employment, and expanding industries. But how is that going to be possible like this? These issues need to be raised in Parliament,” he said.
He said that he wants overseas scholarships for the students of Kashmir for various courses. “In Kashmir, there are few; we want such scholarships for children so that they can explore various fields of study. There is a need for creating new leaders. For this, we need scholarships, and that only happens when demands for such scholarships are raised in Parliament. There is also the issue of drug addiction. There is a need for raising these issues in Parliament,” he said.
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Qazi asked how many times in the past 70 years have the MPs from J&K raised such issues in the Parliament. “They should have done it, but they did not. For this, there is a need for the educated class to come to the fore. The aspirations of people will only be regarded when we have representatives who will talk about what the people want on bigger platforms such as Parliament and the Assembly,” he said.
Professionally a leading Onco-surgeon, Dr Qazi said that his transition to politics has been out of compulsion. “I can see what is happening; the political system has degraded. J&K is an educated state, but despite that, those who should have made political decisions and come to the fore, did not do that, and the reasons for that are evident,” he said.
“I am not in competition with big players. I’m placing my ball in the people’s court. Now, the public has to decide and choose whether they want their aspirations heard, their future secured, and their political decisions to matter. I don’t see established political parties as competition. Perhaps they need to compete with me, but I don’t see them that way,” he said.
The Independent candidate said his stance on Article 370 differs from that of the BJP and other established political parties. “We do not regard Article 370 as a special provision for J&K. In reality, it has never been a special provision; rather, it has always served as a means for the Government of India to implement its directives without the cumbersome process of going through Parliament,” he added.
Qazi said Article 371 of the Constitution is more important for which political parties in J&K should have raised voice in the Parliament.
“Remarkably, there’s been little discussion about 35-A; in the past 75 years, we could not do anything about it. From the 1960s, 11 States got Article 371 implemented, which is similar to Article 35-A. Despite having 6 MPs, we failed to enact such protections. Those now clamouring for the reinstatement of our identity were in power and could not do anything over the years; their inaction speaks volumes about their lack of vision. 35-A should have been enshrined as a constitutional guarantee long ago,” he added.
He said that the delimitation process is an ongoing one and it is a political manoeuvring tactic. “Both the NC and BJP have manipulated Assembly adjustments to suit their agendas and that is what political parties do. Political parties shouldn’t resort to divisive tactics, and it’s up to the people to reject such approaches through their votes, as they won’t resolve our issues,” he said.
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