Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 15: The Member Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh or Engineer Rashid lambasted the Modi Government’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ slogan, calling it a “fraud”.
Addressing an election rally in Tral area of Pulwama district, the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Chief claimed that nothing has changed in Kashmir, and atrocities continue unabated in Modi’s Naya Kashmir.
He said that his success in the Lok Sabha elections shows the public’s discontent with the Modi Government’s “Naya Kashmir”.
He emphasized that their struggle is for truth, rights, and justice and dismissed allegations that he acts as a proxy for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Rashid remarked that those who accuse him of being a BJP proxy should feel “ashamed of themselves,” asserting that he is the only mainstream leader to have faced persecution from the ruling party.
“The people who accuse me of being a BJP proxy should feel ashamed. I am the only one who was victimised by the BJP. While Omar and Mehbooba were kept in SKICC for several months during the abrogation, I was the only MLA jailed in Tihar,” he said.
He said Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti failed the people, particularly in the aftermath of the Central Government’s abrogation of Article 370.
In a message to the people of Tral, Rashid assured that their votes for AIP will be respected and their rights will be restored. He was accompanied by party candidate for Tral, Dr. Harbakash Singh, and other party leaders during the visit.