‘We have to make environment for New Delhi to deliver’
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, July 1: Almost a week after All Party Meeting of J&K leaders with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chairman Peoples Conference, Sajjad Gani Lone, today said that there is a need for creating an enabling environment for New Delhi to deliver in J&K while emphasising that the restoration of Statehood cannot be linked with the elections.
Sajjad said that the delivery process is long term and that the political parties have to create a conducive environment for that to happen.
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“As on date, there are no winners and losers. It is a long process and we will have to ensure that Delhi delivers, and we have to make an enabling environment for them to deliver; we have to understand that cannot be done by rhetoric,” he told media persons while addressing a press conference here flanked by Imran Ansari and Basharat Bukhari.
Sajjad said that India is a land of elections and there is an election after every 8 months and that there is a need for making sure that the delivery does not become difficult.
“We have to keep in our mind that let us not, by our rhetoric, create an environment where delivery becomes difficult,” he said while adding that if the delivery becomes difficult or is delayed, “there is only one loser and that’s the people of J&K,” he said.
He said that by ‘rabblerousing’, by making ‘rhetorical’ statement “we might be able to address our constituents, but for the last 2 years, we will have to see the difficulties people are facing; that needs to be addressed as well; we will strive to create an enabling environment to facilitate delivery mechanism” he said.
On the issue of restoration of statehood and elections, Sajjad said that the Statehood must be restored soon, but at the same time refused to link the two.
“If left to me, I would say, now, right now, the Statehood should be restored not as a matter of charity but as a matter of right and I would not link elections with the Statehood,” he said.
Referring to the statements made by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti that they will not contest the election, Sajjad said that if his party is going to contest the elections that will mean he is also contesting the election.
“There is nothing like I am more important than others; I will not contest the elections but the rest of the leaders in my party will. I am not more moral than them; I am not superior to them. If something is forbidden for me, that’s forbidden for them as well,” he said.
With regard to the statements made by the leaders who participated in the All Party Meeting led by PM, Sajjad said that leaders who attended the APM made their people proud.
“They spoke well, and in support of the people of J&K. It is but natural as nobody will go from here to Delhi to speak against J&K. It was not like only one person spoke during the meeting, everyone spoke; I as a Kashmiri felt proud of all the leaders as they spoke for the people of J&K. They reflected the pain in a befitting manner. I pay my respects to all of them,” he said.
On the issues of different leaders issuing different statements after the culmination of the All Party Meeting, Sajjad said that the PM was there, the Home Minister was there, they posted three tweets and that was it, “but unfortunately, we are suffering from a diarrhoea of words that we keep talking. We have to learn to keep quiet at times,” he said.
On the issue of PC disowning senior leader Muzzafar Beigh, Sajjad said: “About Beigh Sahab, Imran has given a statement on that, we will neither add anything nor will we subtract anything from that statement. That is a closed chapter now,” he said.
In reply to a question whether the PC will participate in the Delimitation exercise if invited, Sajjad replied in the affirmative stating that the process has to be fair within the regions and across the regions.
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