Srinagar : Dr Farooq Abdullah the President J&K National Conference and Member Parliament from Srinagar on Saturday visited Kokernag to commiserate with senior leader Choudhary Zaffar Ali Khatana on the demise of his brother Choudhary Amjad Ali Khatana.
According to a statement issued here, joined in by the party’s local unit and other South Zone functionaries, he expressed sympathies and condolences with the bereaved household and offered Fatiha for the deceased. Talking to reporters on the side-lines of the party event Dr. Farooq questioned the claims of the Central Government on holding of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. “Center is saying the situation has normalized in Jammu and Kashmir. One of our local IGs is saying that militancy has declined but not over. Why this double talk? If the indices of security have improved then what is holding them back from holding elections? First it was security then it was weather. Now that the weather is clear and the security situation admittedly better. What is it then? When we visited the Election Commission , we were told that the delimitation exercise, voter lists have been completed. All they are doing is manage new excuses every day to delay Assembly elections,” he said. Replying to a question on the removal of chapters relating to Mughal history from NCERT books, he said, “It’s sheer mockery. What are we going to tell visitors who built the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and many other fascinating buildings/structures? How will you hide the architectural and cultural insignias of Mughals spread across the country? It’s there to remain. People come and go, but history remains unchanged.”
