Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 16: People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone today said that they will work for the welfare of the people of J&K, ensuring that the youngsters are saved from bullets, jails and persecution while impressing on the need for speaking the truth and leading the people of J&K with sincerity and honesty.
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Addressing a gathering of party workers here at the oath-taking ceremony after being re-elected as the chairman of the party, Sajad said that National Conference (NC) has already done injustice to the people of J&K and that it is ironic how they are talking about the welfare of the people of J&K now.
He said that the NC which is these days talking of the betterment of people, their rights and their welfare, was itself involved in that while they were in power.
“Those who will not talk about what happened in 1987 do not know anything about Kashmir; they cannot talk about Kashmir because if that would not have happened, things would have been different today,” he said.
He said that the youngsters of Kashmir have seen bullets and jails and that the same needs to stop. “They have seen a lot. Those who have not seen anything are calling for revolutions and sacrifices. If they are sincere why not send their loved ones to the front,” he asserted.
Sajad described the current times as distinctively painful and politically unique in terms of the challenges that it poses to the different sections of leadership in J&K today.
He said that leadership has different definitions at different times and in present times, he said, leadership would entail saving people, leadership would mean preserving the youth and leadership demands speaking the truth to the people.
Sajad said that one of the easiest things in politics is to resort to lies and innuendo and the most difficult thing, he said, is to speak the truth in the face of adversity. “We in the People’s Conference will strive to ensure that we speak the truth and lead with honesty and courage.”
“It’s time that the leadership variables are reset. Let leaders lead with the courage to speak the truth and let the people of J&K follow those who speak the truth. Safeguarding the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth, is the biggest leadership challenge in current times and the People’s Conference will do everything in its power to protect a common Kashmiri from being victimised.”
Sajad further asserted that the People’s Conference is the party that has a legacy of sacrifice and will continue to strive to accord people a dignified way of living.
“We will make every effort to promote political inclusiveness and tirelessly strive to restore and retrieve the glorious political legacy that the people of J&K deserve. A unique legacy which we all cherished and zealously guarded for so long. We will do what it takes to ensure that legacy is restored,” he added
He said that he does not agree with Yasin Malik’s decision of taking up arms, but, he said, if he is suffering, there is a need for knowing and trying to understand who put him on the path of violence. “It was all that happened in 1987 and after that the role of Dr Farooq who ensured that his son becomes a Chief Minister while Malik was pushed on some other path,” he said.
Referring to NC, Sajad said that they termed those who tried to talk in the favour of people and their betterment as “agents of Delhi”, “but they kept the power and did whatever they liked,” he said.
He said that the leadership is not ready to take responsibility for the failures and work towards saving the youngsters from bullets, jail and other sufferings. “We are not ready to send the children of the poor for stone pelting and send our kids to study outside,” he said.
He said that the PC will work towards getting J&K identity back through legal means and if there arises a need for sacrifices, “the leadership will do that and not the people,” he said.
On the occasion, Sajad took the oath of office as president of the People’s Conference in presence of the General Council, which forms the Electoral College for the election of the President of the party.
The oath was administered by the Chairman of the Election Authority of the party Syed Basharat Bukhari while the same was attended by the top leadership of the party along with thousands of delegates comprising the general council.
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