Luxury of securing votes on false pretexts over: Mufti

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Saturday said the luxury of securing votes on one pretext or the other and then forgetting about the interests of the people, which was enjoyed by the National Conference (NC) for decades, is not available to any party now.

Addressing meeting of card holders from Pulwama constituency Mufti said the democratic competition introduced by the emergence of PDP makes all political players accountable before the people’s court and PDP itself is not beyond this political audit.  He said the way out of the Kashmir imbroglio was through ballot which is the ultimate tool of empowerment and through a wise use of this instrument the state can effectively champion its cause and secure the power to undo injustices of the past.

Mufti said PDP’s agenda goes beyond good governance on which it has established credentials and it looks to paving the way for a dignified resolution of Kashmir. He said while those advocating a boycott have right to do so but it amounts to negation of their own political philosophy of offering a free will to the people when they are through violence or threat prevented from exercising their option. He said the use of force to prevent people from exercising their franchise does not add to the credibility of those who claim to call for voluntarily election boycott.

Welcoming the latest moves for upgrading the facilities for trade and travel across the Line-of-Control (LoC) Mufti said substantial measures need to be taken to make the initiative successful.

He said the scope of trans-LoC trade and travel should be expanded and made hassle-free to make more meaningful the 2005 initiative of reopening the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.

“Trade and travel facility should be extended beyond the divided families to common citizens of the two sides of the LoC and double currency system along with a credible banking back-up made available to traders,” he added.

He said all traditional trade routes as existed in the pre-independence era should also be reopened to help harness the border state’s potential as a business hub.

Mufti Kashmir has remained a challenge for the all the Prime Ministers since 1947 as was explained by the party president, Mehbooba Mufti, in her speech in Parliament recently and said there was need for bold steps to address the issue.  “A multidimensional approach as envisaged in party’s Self-Rule document alone could save the state from decades-old miseries.

It’s not a problem that could be solved by action on a single front. It had to be addressed at political, diplomatic, constitutional and economic levels,” he added. He said the trust deficit between residents of J&K and rest of the country has to be bridged by ensuring justice, fair-play and equality before law and unless the people in the state enjoy the dividends of being part of a democratic system the alienation levels would in-turn result in more problems for them in the state.

Mufti said PDP during its brief tenure in the government scripted a new chapter of peace and development in the state and the party not only revived people’s trust in the democratic institutions, but set an example of honesty and transparency in the governance system. He said the party delivered much it had promised to the people, but NC brought destruction and sell-outs of the state’s interests and resources. Mufti said the ruling dispensation has vitiated the whole atmosphere of peace and reconciliation which was created by the PDP with the support of people.

On the occasion Senior Party leader and MLA Pulwama, Mohammad Khalil Bandh was also present.

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