Srinagar: Asserting that the fight for special status will be taken to its conclusion, former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Friday urged the people to put up a united face to defeat the designs of putting the land of Jammu and Kashmir on sale.
Omar made these remarks during an interaction with the people in Drass on Friday. The former CM is leading a delegation of Peoples’ Alliance to Kargil to garner support from the leadership for the fight for special status.
“Warmly received by the people of Drass, who in one voice endorsed the agenda of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration,” Omar tweeted.
“People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration is heading to Kargil to hold consultations with the people to chart out the road ahead,” he said on Twitter.
Commenting on the Ladakh visit of the PAGD delegation, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said it was high time someone reached out to the people of Kargil as they “too have grave apprehensions” about the future.
The delegation, led by Omar Abdullah, is now in Kargil to begin consultations with the people “on the road ahead” for Jammu and Kashmir.
Seven mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir, including the NC and the PDP, have formed the PAGD for restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. NC’s Farooq Abdullah is the PAGD’s chairman and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti its vice-chairperson
“Glad to see all of you at Kargil to engage with the people. High time someone reached out to them since they too have grave apprehensions about the future,” Mehbooba, also a former chief minister tweeted.
The members of the delegation, which is visiting Ladakh, comprise of NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani, PDP leaders Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura and Waheed Para, and Awami National Conference leader Muzaffar Shah.
This is the first visit of leaders of mainstream political parties of Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh after last year’s decision of the Centre.
On August 5 last year, the Centre had abrogated the special status of the erstwhile state and split it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
While addressing the people at Drass, Omar said that he felt as if he was visiting a place unknown to him. He said he felt like a guest in Kargil as all names earlier linked to J&K have been removed.
“A part of Jammu and Kashmir, Drass was abruptly taken away from us. The draconian diktats can’t widen the gap between people of Kashmir and Ladakh. Drass is a part of Kashmir and it will remain so,” he told gathering.
He said there was a need to aware people about the consequences of the August 5 move by the government of India.
“New Delhi is implementing new laws against the wishes of the people and we must show a united face to defeat the designs of those that want to put the land of Jammu and Kashmir on sale,” he said.
While concluding his address in Drass, Omar sought support of people for Peoples’ Alliance saying that the leadership will not run but take this this fight to logical conclusion.
Referring to the Modi-government’s August 5 move, Omar said that the forcibly implemented decision has not been accepted and that the leadership will fight for the restoration of all that has been “snatched from us”.
“No Assembly or Chief Minister of the state has signed it. The powers were taken away by the Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir illegally and without talking to us and the state was divided by downgrading it into two separate Union Territories,” he said.
While talking about his political opponents, the NC leader said “We never missed a chance to confront each other on political fronts, but that era was different, given the circumstances we are going through and now we are one.
“Today it is our responsibility to forget all those differences, and it is not the fight for Chief Ministerial Post, Election or power. Today we are on common platform, be it National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Awami National Conference, Peoples Conference or CPIM, we all have come together keeping our differences and political ideologies aside, we are here to fight against the August 5, 2019 decision when black laws were forcibly implemented on us and you were separated from us and we are working on rejoining you back with us,” he added.
According to reports, Omar led delegation also called upon members of Kargil Democratic Alliance.
Speaking to media in Kargil, Omar said “Our fight is not against the country but against BJP and its ideology. BJP is not the country and vice versa. What we want back was written in the Constitution. We will not step back in our fight,” he said. (With PTI, KNT inputs)
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