The Chairman of Jammu Kashmir People’s Conference Sajad Lone on Friday credited the BJP for uniting all J&K parties in an unprecedented alliance to demand the restoration of the former state’s special status.
He said as “inhabitants and not tourists” they will outlast the central government, reported NDTV.
The decision to scrap Jammu Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy by the Centre was “short-sighted and borne out of hatred”, NDTV quoted Lone as saying, a day after the regional outfits came together to fight unitedly for the restoration of the Article 370 of the Constitution.
Lone said he “felt like a stranger” after being released from year-long detention and seeing “outsiders” had taken over the reins of Jammu Kashmir. Lone, a former minister in the erstwhile BJP-PDP government, who was detained along with hundreds of political leaders after the Centre announced the move on August 5 last year, was released on July 31 this year.
He said the joint fight for the restoration of Article 370 will be within the framework of the constitution and seek to end the violence and uncertainty in the valley.
“This is a collective mechanism and primarily what was ours has been taken away from us. We will struggle peacefully, within the ambit of the constitution as is the right in every part of the country,” he said.
“We are here to stay, as inhabitants of the state. We are not tourists. National governments come and go. We should resist any national government decisions for which our children will have to face consequences. It is our moral duty to stand up against it,” he said.
He said the Centre did not display “sense ownership” by detaining and jailing leaders in Kashmir. “August 5 decision was very short-sighted borne out of hatred, unfortunately.
The national government is “maai-baap” (parents) for everyone. Maai-baap does not lock you in jail. The onus today is on them to show that they treat us at par with the rest of the country,” he said.
Major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir – the National Conference, People’s Democratic Party or PDP, People’s Conference and other groups – have decided to keep their individual rivalries in suspended animation and fight together to get Article 370 restored.
The new political bloc will be led by National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, said Lone, adding, they should thank the BJP-led central government for the unthinkable match-making in Kashmir.
“We should thank Delhi for this alliance, to get us together. Delhi has become perfect match-maker,” he said.
He termed air-dropping officials from other states to take the reins of governance in Jammu Kashmir “a disaster”.
“Everything has changed. People who don’t belong to this place have taken over. It is a bunch of people who have no idea about the problems and the history of this place. It is a disastrous situation,” he said.