J&K: National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah Hints At Contesting Polls With New Coalition

Abdullah said that the situation in Kashmir has become worse than what it was in the 1990s when terrorism erupted in Kashmir.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and senior National Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad | Photo: Getty Images

New Delhi: National Conference president and chairperson of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), Farooq Abdullah hinted that his party would contest the next Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections together with the constituents of a new coalition to defeat “communal forces.”

“...and I am sure when the elections come, we'll sit down together again to defeat the divisive and communal forces,” said Abdullah, as quoted by PTI.

Abdullah said that the situation in Kashmir has become worse than what it was in the 1990s when terrorism erupted in Kashmir. He said that the reason for the same was that the youth have lost faith in the present government and felt that they have no place in modern India. 

The PAGD is a five-party alliance and includes the National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Awami National Conference, People’s Movement, and the CPI(M).

“What is created is a combination of all parties to fight for the rights and identity of our people - the Dogras, the Kashmiris, and others. We recently had a meeting and we all condemned what the delimitation commission has done (based on its preliminary report which recommended six seats for Jammu and one in Kashmir besides reserving nine seats for Scheduled Tribes and seven for Scheduled Castes),” he said. 

Abdullah also asked the government as to how they would tackle groups like Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs who were demanding a political reservation. “How will people from all sections be there? Who does not take these things into consideration? That is why we had an Upper House where the people who could not come into assembly were brought so that their voices could be heard,” he added. 

The NC chief said that today every Muslim, a Kashmiri, or from other parts of India has to “continuously prove” his loyalty to the nation even when the community had shed blood for the country.

“Why? Why can't it be done for the others? Why can't they ask the Hindus, 'Are you Indians?' Why only Muslims who have given blood for this nation and are continuously giving blood for this nation, defending this nation at every place,” he asked.