India not doing justice with Kashmiris: Farooq

Beerwah, April 3

India is not doing justice to the people of Kashmir but it cannot suppress them with its military might, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said today, asserting that the Centre will have to return the people’s right guaranteed by the Constitution.

“India is not doing justice with us. Had it done justice, we would not have seen the situation we are in. I want to tell (PM Narendra) Modi, do justice with our people. We do not seek anything else than our rights,” Farooq said, referring to the state’s special status.

He was addressing workers in the Beerwah segment. “We seek the rights of the people of the state which you have taken away. If you think you can suppress us with your Army, you have a misconception. We cannot be suppressed. You will have to return our rights one day,” he said.

Farooq said peace will return to J&K if the pre-1953 position was restored. The NC leader said when the country got Independence, a Constitution was created in which certain provisions were kept by which the state’s identity could be safeguarded. “It included Article 370 and Article 35A. Unfortunately, some of our leaders made Article 370 hollow for their personal gains,” he said.

Flaying BJP chief Amit Shah for his remarks that Modi was walking on the path of former PM AB Vajpayee, he said Shah has a misconception. “No Amit Shah, you have a misconception. Vajpayee was ready to give us autonomy. Where is that ‘insaaniyat’ (humanity), where has that ‘jamhooriyat’ (democracy) gone and where is that Kashmiriyat about which he (Vajpayee) had said from the ramparts of Red Fort? “We want that insaaniyat and jamhooriyat where every person can get his rights,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress over its promise in the manifesto for appointing interlocutors for Kashmir, he said, “I want to tell them (Congress) that you have already appointed three...Rather than appointing new interlocutors, present the NN Vohra report, Justice Sagheer report and the report of three interlocutors (appointed in the UPA-II regime) in Parliament.” — PTI