Srinagar: Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari on Sunday hit out at former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and put him responsible for the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a public rally in south Kashmir’s Bijbihara town Bukhari said Azad could have saved the article 370 when he was representing as the leader of the opposition in the parliament, but he supported the Bharatiya Janata Party government and shook hands with them.
“If you (Azad) would not have supported the Modi government in the parliament it couldn’t have been passed”, he said and added “not with the sentimental speeches the abrogation of article 370 could have been stopped if voting could have been taken up …but the congress vote went to the BJP”.
“Why did’t he stop the abrogation of article 370 from being implemented? It is Shameful for Azad Sahab….people of Jammu and Kashmir have shown great respect for you when you came here last year, but they were not aware that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not behind the abrogation of article 370 but you (Azad) who stabbed them (people) in the back”, Bukhari alleged.
And today they are demanding restoration of the August 4 position to Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
He said Azad is now trying to get people of Kashmir fooled…”with which face you will come to see the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, Bukhari questioned and added the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not fools ..they know with whom you have shake your hands and have stabbed them in their back”, he added.
Bukhari said that the conventional politicians who remained in power for years and decades here have always been deceitful to the people in terms of making empires for themselves and pushing common people to deprivation.
He added, “The traditional political parties and their leaders have always kept people busy with emotional slogans, which eventually pushed them to poverty, unemployment, prisons, graveyards, and so on. While the leaders built empires for themselves and their kith and kin. We thought they wanted ‘self-rule’ for the people, but now it is clear that they wanted ‘rule of their own selves’ here.”
Reiterating Apni Party’s policy, Bukhari said, “We believe in the politics of truthfulness. We have resolved that we will never lie to our people even if this policy does not fetch political dividends to us. We will not promise you the moon and stars, we will promise you only what we believe can be fulfilled.”
He explained it further, “We promise you peace, prosperity and development in J&K, and political and economic empowerment of its people. And, I promise you that this is achievable and we will continue striving for this goal.”
UNI