Omar asks party men to work for 2014 elections

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 20: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the leaders of National Conference to bury their differences and work to strengthen the party for better results in 2014 Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the State.
“The party comes first and no Minister, leader or worker is above the party. This has to be kept in mind by the people who hold firm belief in the ideology of National Conference. We may have personal differences but that does not mean that party should suffer. We have to move ahead so that the party regains its glory and re-emerges as the number one political party of Jammu and Kashmir,” said Omar.
He was addressing a function of party workers and leaders held in connection with Nasir Aslam Wani taking over as Provincial President of the party at the party headquarters at Nawai Subah complex here.
Omar said that newly elected office bearers of the party should visit the grassroots and establish contact with the party workers at the ground level. He complimented the new team of National Conference saying that none among them expressed disappointment at the stripping of the ministries and powers.
“Next year is crucial for us as both the Parliamentary and the Assembly elections are being held in the State. The party workers have some demands with the Government and let me assure them that their demands would be fulfilled. The government would also provide a solution to the problems being faced by the workers. Workers are our real strength and we will not let you down,” said Omar.
Asking the senior party leaders to extend cooperation to the newly appointed Provincial President, Omar said that this holds key to the success of the party in both the Parliamentary and Assembly elections. He asked the unhappy party leaders to return to the party fold and take active part in the party activities.
“National Conference has been strong when it has been out of power. The party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was the favourite leader of the masses as he was one among them. When the party is strong then we can have wonderful results on the ground. We can form the Government only when we have the support of the party workers. From today onwards we have to work for the next year’s Parliamentary and Assembly elections,” said Omar.
The Chief Minister said that it would not be easy for the new provincial president to perform since he would be up against many challenges posed by the opponents who are sizeable in number. He claimed that newly elected office bearers have been chosen by National Conference President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah and himself as he is working president of the party.
“I and the party president have complete faith in the new team and it is due to this reason that these people have been given important assignments. It is for them to perform and I am confident that they would come up to the expectations of the people more so the party workers and leaders. They need support from us and we will not sit back in this regard,” said Omar.
He asked the National Conference ministers to carry out consultations with the people after addressing or presiding over official functions across the State. He said the ministers should understand the problems of the people and pass on directions to the Government officials to solve such problems at the earliest.
In his speech, the newly appointed Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani said that he would work for strengthening the party at the grassroots level. Nasir said that he would try his best to come up to the expectations of the party workers, party leaders and people as a whole.
“It is my privilege to be asked to sit on a chair once occupied by National Conference founder, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Huge responsibility has been placed on my shoulders and I will try to do justice with the new assignment. National Conference has the privilege of being the oldest political party of the State and the party has always worked for the interests of the people more so the downtrodden one,” said Nasir.
He said that he would work to plug the loopholes that may be there in the working of the National Conference as a party at the grassroots level. He said the party leaders who have grievances with the top leadership of the party should come forward and extend support to him so that National Conference regains its lost glory.
“It is important to fulfill the genuine demands of the party workers and I would request the Chief Minister to provide employment to the deserving workers so that they heave a sigh of relief. At the same time the Government should announce honorarium in favour of the Panchs and Sarpanchs. Elections for the Block Development Council should also be held so that the Panchayati Raj system takes complete shape of governance at the grassroots level,” said Nasir.
Among others the function was also addressed by Dr. Mehboob Beigh, Sajad Ahmad Kitchloo, Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurezi), Ali Mohammad Dar and Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Shah. National Conference General Secretary, Sheikh Nazir Ahmad was not present at the function.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the function, National Conference Additional General Secretary, Dr. Mustafa Kamal said that both India and Pakistan should de-militarize the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Dr. Kamal said that this should be followed by holding of referendum so that the people could decide either to accede with India or Pakistan.

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