Call for elections, Statehood, return of KPs
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 17: In a significant development, prominent political leaders from Kashmir including two former Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti gave a miss to a round table conference on Jammu and Kashmir organized by political analyst and Track II diplomat OP Shah in New Delhi today.
Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyyar, OP Shah, NC leader Tanvir Sadiq, former Minister Harshdev Singh, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat (People’s Conference), Muzaffar Shah (Awami National Conference), Kapil Kak and some political personalities from New Delhi attended the meeting.
Besides Farooq and Mehbooba, other political leaders who had been invited to the conference but didn’t attend include Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami (CPM), Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi, National Conference Lok Sabha member from South Kashmir and Altaf Bukhari, chairman Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP).
Political observers described as significant the absence of senior politicians of Kashmir from the roundtable conference organized by OP Shah, who heads ‘Centre for Peace and Progress’. Topic of the conference was ‘Another Look at Article 370 and 35A’ and it was held for about four hours at the India International Centre.
National Conference had deputed its leader Tanvir Sadiq, chief spokesperson to the meeting while there was none from PDP and CPM.
Muzaffar Shah, a prominent leader of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and senior vice president Awami National Conference, confirmed to the Excelsior on telephone from New Delhi that Abdullahs, Mehbooba Mufti and Tarigami were not present at the meeting.
Shah said the round table conference called for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, conduct of Assembly elections immediately, rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir and listening of cases filed in Supreme Court on Articles 370 and 35A.
Former Minister and Nationalist Panthers Party (NPP) president Harshdev Singh told the Excelsior that besides Statehood and Assembly elections, the conference also took up series of other issues. He alleged subversion of democracy and denial of popular Government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Maintaining that legitimate and elected Government alone could deal with obsequious challenges, Harshdev questioned the rationale behind repeated postponement of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, a senior leader of People’s Conference said the conference also discussed economic condition, unemployment and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir besides Article 370, restoration of Statehood, conduct of Assembly elections and return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.
Asked about absence of senior political leaders from the conference, Bhat said Omar Abdullah generally doesn’t attend such conferences but Farooq Abdullah does. All participants invited to the meeting presented their view point on the subjects mentioned in the agenda.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders here said they hadn’t been invited to the conference. Moreover, they said, they don’t want to attend such conferences which have no relevance as Articles 370 and 35A have gone forever and the parties like National Conference, PDP etc should forget it.
The BJP leaders, however, said they stand for conduct of early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have made it clear that J&K will get Statehood at an appropriate time.
While Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyyar attended the conference, there was no leader of the party from J&K at the meeting in New Delhi. However, it couldn’t be ascertained immediately as to whether any Congress leader from J&K had been invited to the meeting or not.
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