Excelsior Correspondent
Kokernag-Shangus, Dec 8: Chief Minister and National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah today said that the retrospective lectures of Narendra Modi and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on the devastating floods were ironic since both leaders and their parties were either conspicuous in their absence or in the abandonment of their duties towards the people of Kashmir during the floods.
Addressing massive election rallies in Kokernag, Shangus and Dooru in South Kashmir, Omar Abdullah said that Prime Minister has failed to do justice with the flood-affected victims of Kashmir as the Center was yet to take any call on the Rehablitation Package which was proposed by the State Government.
“On one hand we have Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing National Conference of not doing enough during the floods and on the other hand we have PDP Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed leaving no stone unturned to play politics over the miseries of the flood victims”, he said, adding the BJP Government in New Delhi has discriminated against the flood victims in Kashmir for political reasons and has made them suffer so that their sufferings could be exploited for political dividends in these elections”.
“Till today the BJP Government in New Delhi has not taken a call on the Relief and Rehabilitation Package submitted by the State Government and the Prime Minister comes to Srinagar and accuses my Government of sleeping on the issue of the floods. If my Government was sleeping then, why has your Government and your political party decided to discriminate against Kashmiris so brazenly and blatantly while being awake?”, Omar Abdullah said.
He also questioned PDP patron’s politicking over the floods and said that the State Government under his directions had kept a helicopter waiting for the Ex-Chief Minister at the Srinagar Airport to bring him into the City and consult him on the response to the tragedy. “However Mufti landed at the Srinagar Airport on one flight from Delhi and took the same flight back to Jammu. Will the same Mufti give me sermons on how my Government should have and shouldnt have dealt with the floods? First, let Mufti Sayeed – who aspires to be the Chief Minister of J&K – explain his complete absence from Kashmir during the devastating natural calamity”, Omar Abdullah said.
Omar Abdullah said National Conference was committed to the just, fair and permanent resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Our stand on the Kashmir issue has remained unchanged and is the same stand for which Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah sacrificed twenty three years of his life in prison. “We will not only strive for the protection of Article 370 from BJP and PDP but will also endure our ideological struggle to seek the restoration of Article 370 to its pristine, pre-1953 stand”, he added.
“Our struggle for the revocation of AFSPA will continue till the law is revoked from the State. Congress has publically admitted that while National Conference wanted the revocation of AFSPA from J&K, Congress opposed the move. We left no stone unturned while in Government to get AFSPA revoked from the State and the recent statements by Ex Home Minister P Chidambaram vindicate our stand on AFSPA”, he said.
The election rallies were also addressed by NC Candidate from Kokernag Ghulam Nabi Adgaami, NC Candidate from Shangus Advocate Riyaz Ahmed Khan and NC Candidate from Dooru, Advocate Farooq Ahmed Ganai.
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