While engagement with Delhi for restoration of statehood is the claim of the Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari , the Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone is now tending to put his feet into the shoes of J&K Apni Party Chief Altaf Bukhari by talking about engagement with the central government for restoration of the erstwhile constitutional position of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state as it existed on August 5,2019. Though Sajad Lone headed Peoples Conference had committed to fight for restoration of the constitutional position of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state under the banner of Peoples Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) but the quitting of Peoples Conference immediately after the DDC elections left no one in doubt that power is much dearer to Sajad Lone than the political sincerity and public commitment . Sajad Lone has in his latest statement said that People of Jammu & Kashmir will have to engage with political leadership of the country and win it’s sympathy to get back Jammu & Kashmir’s constitutional position but would Sajad Lone explain it to the People of Jammu & Kashmir that he and his party colleagues were told lies by the top BJP leaders on the constitutional position of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state before August 5,2019 and were finally sent to jails for months together later. The question arises that does Sajad Lone expect a sympathy from those who deserted him and pushed him and his colleagues into jail for months together . Forget about engagement with Delhi generating sympathy for the people of Jammu & Kashmir the regional political parties party Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone must drawn lessons from the previous commitments of the Prime Minister and Home Minister on restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir not once but several times on the floor of both the houses of parliament during last 18 months. Sajad should not also forget that Prime Minister had during his Independence day address from the historical red fort has already dropped hints that his government is in no haste to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir even a year after downgrading it to two union territories.
People of Jammu & Kashmir will have to wait for a very long time for the return of popular rule and the message from Delhi to keep the mainstream parties on a collapsing mode till the conduct of a controversial delimitation process is very loud and clear.
Significantly Prime Minister Modi in his statement categorically asked to wait for the assembly election till the completion of a delimitation exercise for which the Government has already constituted a panel declared unacceptable by Kashmir’s almost all the regional mainstream parties. After announcing conduct of delimitation exercise the central government has even merged erstwhile J&K cadre of All India Services into AGMUT cadre. So a message has gone out that people of Jammu & Kashmir will have to wait for a very long time for the return of popular rule and the message from Delhi to keep the mainstream parties on a collapsing mode till the conduct of a controversial delimitation process is very loud and clear.