Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 5: Former Chief Minister and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah today while defending the stone pelters said they are doing it for nation and sacrificing their lives for the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir issue.
He was reacting to the recent remark of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of Chenani-Nashri tunnel at Udhampur on Sunday in which he had asked the youth of the Valley to choose between “tourism and terrorism”.
“Youth who are pelting stones have nothing to do with tourism. He will starve to death but he is pelting stones for the sake of nation. They are sacrificing lives so that a solution can be found to Kashmir issue which is acceptable to people here. They are not sacrificing lives for tourism,” Abdullah said while addressing his party workers at Shivepora in Srinagar.
The NC president and candidate from Srinagar Parliamentary constituency said: “PM Modi while inaugurating the tunnel had said that the youth in Kashmir should choose between tourism and terrorism. I want to tell him from this stage that the tourism is our life there is no doubt in it. But the youth throwing stones have nothing to do with tourism”.
Abdullah said that Modi is not providing livelihood to the people. “It is Allah who is providing the livelihood to the people irrespective of their religions,” he added.
The NC president said that people of Kashmir are not striving for tunnels or economic packages but resolution of Kashmir. “You owe us your sincerity and commitment in initiating an open-ended, serious dialogue on Kashmir. It is a Kashmiri who suffers because of an obstinacy that has prevented comprehensive and sustained talks till now and sadly you expect us to suffer in perpetuity. The people of Kashmir haven’t been striving for a tunnel or for economic packages but for a just, fair and acceptable solution to the vexed political issue as per their aspirations”, the National Conference president said.
He said that BJP should not interfere with the Muslim religion: “We (Muslims) have never raised fingers over their religion (Hindu religion). Even sometimes I have myself sung their Bhajans. They must not interfere in our religion.”
Abdullah welcomed the intervention of America in resolving the Kashmir issue. “America should act as mediator between India and Pakistan in resolving the long pending Kashmir issue in case the two neighbouring countries fail to resolve it on their own.”
“America wanted to act as mediator between India and Pakistan in resolving the Kashmir issue but India always expressed reluctance in involving them over the issue. India always tried to resolve the issue without involving anyone into it but unfortunately no result was yielded despite passing several decades”, said NC president.
Abdullah blamed New Delhi for failing to bilaterally resolve Kashmir. “National Conference has always advocated and encouraged bilateral engagement between New Delhi and Islamabad on the Kashmir issue but unfortunately whatever rare efforts were made to engage bilaterally failed to yield any concrete results. To think that New Delhi can somehow afford to remain invested in the status quo on the Kashmir issue is wrong. New Delhi is obligated to be proactive in seeking a just, fair and acceptable solution to the Kashmir issue and had they been forthcoming and keen in talking bilaterally, the question of international mediation wouldn’t have been raised today”, he said.
Abdullah favoured dialogue for resolving the issue. “Dialogue must be initiated to resolve the Kashmir issue before the possible war between the two countries”, he said.
The NC president said that voting for him and Mir is a vote against those who have put honour of the people at stake. “This is not my personal battle or that of National Conference. This is a war of courage and resilience against those who want to rob us of our honour, our sense of pride and our very political existence as a brave, peace-loving people. There will be attempts to scuttle your power to teach the PDP-BJP Alliance a lesson and you have to defeat these attempts by coming out and punishing this opportunistic, evil alliance with your votes. Every vote caste in favour of me in Srinagar and Ghulam Ahmed Mir in Anantnag will be a vote against those who have put our honour at stake”, he said.
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