![Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressing an election rally at Dangerpora on Sunday. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressing an election rally at Dangerpora on Sunday. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/page39.jpg)
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 7: Launching a scathing attack on BJP, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha & Former Chief Minister of J&K, Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party which could not keep eleven MLAs together has no moral right to make misleading claims of achieving 44 seats in the State.
“Who will keep their flock together, if they get more numbers, as they failed to keep eleven MLAs together”, remarked Azad, adding.
“BJP’s real face has got exposed before the people of the Jammu when its half a dozen MLAs betrayed their trust by selling votes in the MLC elections”.
Azad said that they re-inducted the known corrupt MLAs before the Parliament elections and denied tickets to almost all of them in the Assembly elections, adding that “the regional parties which have developed new found love for BJP should also know what humiliation they have meted out to their old ally and ideological sister in Maharashtra”.
He again reiterated that Congress has the conviction and commitment to defeat the divisive agenda of BJP, adding that “people of the State, in the interest of speedy development, inter-regional amity and communal harmony have decided to give a decisive mandate to Congress party”.
Azad was addressing the public meetings at Dangerpora, Sopore and Nadihal, Rafiabad to garner support for the candidates of Congress Party.
Ridiculing the BJP claims that Prime Minister will address a gathering of one lakh people in Kashmir on December 8, 2014, Azad said that this is not misleading but preposterous, as BJP in its desperation to gain power has perhaps decided to beat the record of Joseph Goebbels, the Propaganda Minister of Hitler’s regime.
Taking a jibe at BJP, he said it is BJP alone which can make one lakh out of 4000/5000 people, the way they have been misleading the people of the country about Article 370 for the last sixty years.
Cautioning the people of the State to remain vigilant about certain so-called “mullahs” who have arrived in Kashmir valley to canvass for BJP, Azad asked where were these hired mullahs, when the people of Kashmir were braving bullets, suffering insults and fighting militancy.
“Where were these mullahs when entire Kashmir was submerged in the worst floods of the century and people of Kashmir were faced with an extraordinary and difficult situation? How come suddenly they have become well-wishers of the people of Kashmir”, asked Azad.
He said that if these mullahs are moving from place to place in J&K State, it clearly shows that they are having some vested interest,otherwise what for they are roaming from place to place for the past one month?
Lashing out at regional parties of the State, Azad said that they are habitual of raising bogies of ‘Self-Rule’, ‘Autonomy’ and other sentimental issues as and when elections arrive, and conveniently forget about them once they attain power.
He further said that regional parties by their narrow, sectarian and region-centric agenda have always sharpened the fissures within the State, thus giving a chance to the communal forces to promote their divisive agenda.
Azad said that people of the State want development & progress and youth of the State need job opportunities, and regional parties persistently make attempts to exploit the sentiments of the people.
He said, “at this juncture we need a Government which has proven credentials of development and good governance, as youth of the State cannot be made to wait for another six years for a better future”, adding that people should make a conscious choice of giving a chance to Congress Party to lead the Government in the State.
Azad was campaigning for Congress candidate, Haji Abdul Rashid. Rashid, former MLA, won 2002 elections from Sopore.
Later, when asked about National Conference (NC) candidate from Baramulla Ghulam Hassan Rahi defending the boycott call of militants in the ongoing elections, Azad said NC working president Omar Abdullah should expel the leader from his party. “If Omar Abdullah had been wise, he should have expelled him from the party. I regret that he has not expelled him from the party yet,” he added.