‘Let Centre come forward, help Jammu and Kashmir come out of its difficulties’
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to the people of the state on Independence Day, saying “a hope had been rekindled and time had come to translate his resolve into action by making a real difference on the ground”.
Winding up his five-day visit to the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, the National Conference working president, while referring to the Prime Minister’s statement that the persistent issue could be resolved by embracing everybody in the state, said: “Let the Centre come forward, embrace the people and help Jammu and Kashmir steer out of its difficulties”.
“The Prime Minister is like a father figure; he belongs to entire nation and the entire nation belongs to him. He has to own all and his words from the ramparts of the Red Fort were soothing. Now time has come when ‘goli and gaali’ are discarded and all embrace each other to create an atmosphere of peace and progress. And, in doing so the Prime Minister should play the leading role, whether it is to address the internal or the external dimensions of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said while addressing a party rally in Rajouri.
Omar said J&K became a part of India in accordance with the conditions enshrined in the Instrument of Accession and later in the Constitution of India. “We are part of India and shall continue to be so. We only ask for maintaining and preserving constitutional guarantees granted to our state”, he said.
“We are the only state that has its own Constitution and flag,” the former Chief Minister said, hoping that the uniqueness would be understood and respected. He referred to the ongoing row over Article 35A and said fighting for its retention in the Constitution could not be termed as an “anti-national act”.
“Article 35A is the custodian of the interests of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. It is religion neutral, region neutral and caste neutral,” he said while declaring that the NC would continue to fight for its protection.
Tracing the genesis of more youth getting pushed into militancy in south Kashmir, Omar said people were feeling betrayed by the PDP, which fought the 2014 elections mainly on the anti-BJP plank but ultimately embraced it to be in the cradle of government.
National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana also addressed the workers.
