Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, July 9 : Presidential opposition candidate, Yashwant Sinha today said that if he was elected, his priority will be to persuade the Government for resolution of the Kashmir issue permanently and restoration of peace, justice, democracy and normalcy.
Sinha who was here on a day-long visit to seek support for his Presidential bid, pressed for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and also said that free and fair Assembly elections must be conducted at an earliest.
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Addressing a press conference, he said that if he is elected as president, one of his priorities will be to urge the Government to take necessary steps to resolve the Kashmir issue permanently and restore peace, justice, normalcy, democracy and end the hostility towards J&K.
“If elected, I shall perform my duty as the custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour. One of my priorities would be to urge the Government to take all necessary steps to resolve the Kashmir issue permanently, and restore peace, justice, democracy, normalcy and holistic development to Jammu and Kashmir,” Sinha said.
“I am opposed to forcible and manipulative demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
He said that he is opposed to the forcible and manipulative changes in J&K. He said the Central Government has failed to fulfil its promise to create an atmosphere for safe return of Kashmiri Pandits.
“The promise must be fulfilled. J&K people have suffered a lot and their desire for peace must be fulfilled,” Sinha said.
“My campaign would have been incomplete in case I could not have visited Kashmir. I get disappointed when I see the situation here, which is contrary to the Government claims,” he added.
He pressed for early elections in J&K and said that there is no State in the country where elections have not been conducted for the period of four years and where the people have been deprived of the representation.
“Jammu and Kashmir is facing injustice and only a limited people are knowledgeable about the fact that the limited democracy that existed in J&K has also been murdered.”
He said that his visit to J&K was to express solidarity with the people of J&K. “It is very regrettable that the Supreme Court has not even heard the case related to Article 370 and Article 35-A nearly 3 years after the constitution was repealed,” he said, adding that long pendency of the case in the court erodes the credibility of the apex court.
Sinha said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an All-Party Meeting in June 2020 had promised to remove the “dil ki doori” and “Dilli ki doori” (the distance from the heart and Delhi). “Over two years have passed and the promise remains unfulfilled.”
He said he had great personal regard for the NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.
“However, from Srinagar, I urge her to make the same affirmations and promises I have made. The people of Jammu and Kashmir also expect this assurance from her,” he added.
Responding to another question, he said Jammu and Kashmir cannot be won over through management.
“There is no will to fight out injustice in Jammu and Kashmir. Perhaps, that is why there are no Assembly elections. Perhaps that is why the unnecessary delimitation exercise was carried out which has done justice to none. They should know that Jammu and Kashmir cannot be won over by management,” he added.
Sinha expressed anguish over the lives lost due to a cloudburst near the Amarnath cave shrine and urged the Government to place facts about the incident before the country.
“I express deep anguish over the loss of life in the Amarnath tragedy. We don’t know exactly how many people have been killed but it seems that many lives have been lost,” he said.
“It is our duty that we try to bring out the truth. The Government should place facts about the tragedy before the nation and not hide anything,” he added.
Sinha, who was accompanied by National Conference (NC) president Dr Farooq Abdullah, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Congress working president Raman Bhalla and other political leaders said that for the second time, the people in J&K would not be able to participate in the Presidential polls.
Earlier he met several political leaders at the residence of Dr Farooq Abdullah and meeting last for few hours in which political leaders shared their views on the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
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