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Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 3: National Conference (NC) working president and former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, today said the return of migrants is the agenda of every political party of the State.
“As far as bringing back those people who during difficult situation left the State is concerned, this is not the mission of any single political party (but) every political party and every right-thinking person has said that until we again raise the slogan of Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity in Jammu and Kashmir, till then it is perhaps impossible to save our ‘Kashmiriyat’,” Omar told reporters on the sideline of a party function at Budgam district of Central Kashmir.
The former Chief Minister said they want to bring back all migrants including Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Sikhs who left State or Valley during turbulent times with dignity. “I don’t think any political party has its own agenda in this but is the agenda of everyone,” he added.
Accusing few leaders of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading hatred and spewing venom, the NC working president said that this is the reason why his party didn’t ally with it. “These kinds of people do nothing other than spreading venom in this country,” he said, when asked about the recent statement of BJP leader and Parliamentarian Sakshi Maharaj, wherein he said Muslims should be cremated post-death.
Omar took a jibe at People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for allying with BJP and said: “This is why we refused to shake hands with them because we know that there are those people in this BJP organization who don’t want to see brotherhood (in country), are enemies of peace and are only indulging in deteriorating atmosphere.”
Earlier, addressing party functionaries at Beerwah, Omar said PDP’s continued subservience to the BJP was alarming and could have long-lasting adverse implications on the State and its stability. He added that multi-fold increase in number of pellet guns from around 600 to now around 6,000 showed that the present Government had chosen to not learn any lessons from the recent unrest and the devastating effect of pellet guns when hundreds of young kids lost partial or complete eyesight.
“We all remember Mehbooba’s statements and press conferences on the use of pellet guns when she was in the opposition. Unfortunately, despite the enormous and staggering human costs of using these guns that we witnessed in 2016, Mehbooba remains unmoved as the number of pellet guns are expected to go up from around 600 to around 6000 now. Imagine the height of hypocrisy and shamelessness that this Government has the audacity to not only continue with the use of pellet guns but also increase their number ten-fold. Making customary offers of donating her eyes to pellet guns cannot absolve Mehbooba of this new U-turn”, the NC working president said at the sidelines of the party event.
Condemning recent remarks made by BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, Omar said these remarks were deliberate attempts to intimidate and harass Muslims and use polarization as a political tool to benefit BJP in ongoing elections.
“While BJP has its own plans and goals to polarize people and use that as a tactic in the ongoing elections, why is PDP silent? Is it too much to ask to expect the Chief Minister of India’s only Muslims majority State to stand up and speak up for the democratic and Constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir? We all know what Mehbooba Ji would have done in the face of such comments had she been in the opposition”, the National Conference leader added.
On the occasion, hundreds of political workers belonging to various parties including the PDP joined National Conference in the presence of Omar Abdullah and pledged to be a part of his mission to usher the State into an era of peace, prosperity and dignity.
Omar welcomed the new entrants to the party and asked them to work hard in strengthening the party at the grassroots level. Political Secretary to working president Tanvir Sadiq and senior NC Leader Prof Abdul Majeed Matoo were also present on the occasion.
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