Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 25: National Conference (NC) president and party’s candidate for Srinagar parliamentary by-polls Dr Farooq Abdullah today said India belongs to all religions and communal forces want to break country’s foundation.
“Today they (communal forces) want to break India’s foundation. India doesn’t belong to one religion only. India was equally for all religions,” Farooq said. The NC candidate, who is also being supported by Congress in bye-polls, was speaking during an election rally in Budgam town of central Kashmir in presence of Congress leaders including Tariq Hamid Karra.
Farooq, who has been resorting to religious rhetoric to woo voters, said: “Kashmir can save India and that will happen only when you will vote jointly for NC and Congress candidates in Srinagar and Anantnag”. He said that Kashmir should become foundation for defeating communalists.
“This land belongs to Sufis and Saints. This land of Sufis should bring such a storm that these communalists should shiver and God should take out their funeral,” he said, adding that today’s elections are not about roads, electricity or employment but “survival of Muslims”.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the NC working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah acknowledged that Congress and National Conference has got weakened at national and State level respectively. “Farooq correctly said that if at national level the nation is facing threat that is because the Congress has basically weakened across the country”, he added.
“But Farooq should have also said that if basically there is threat in our State and we are victims of RSS and BJP, this is because NC has weakened in Jammu and Kashmir. And, as a result of the weakness the RSS has opened branches in Srinagar,” he said.
He said that PDP doesn’t want to talk about the “RSS and BJP threat” and instead “they will try to provoke Election Commission to take action against us for our speeches”. Omar continued his attacks on Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti over handling of 2016 unrest in the Kashmir Valley. “How can we forget that for consecutive 18 weeks, the Friday prayers at Jama Masjid were not allowed; how can we forget that for the first time that Eid prayers were disallowed…,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said decision of Farooq Abdullah to contest by-polls for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat is not ordinary. “I didn’t tell him to contest polls…he was forced by the situation to contest the polls,” Omar said and sought vote for his father.
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