Restore internal autonomy, says Farooq

MENDHAR: National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah Sunday said internal autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir within the framework of Indian Constitution and conversion of Line of Control into Line of Peace was a pragmatic way forward to herald peace in the region.

 “India and Pakistan should resume the dialogue process and engage people of Jammu and Kashmir in an acceptable solution”, Dr Farooq Abdullah said while addressing workers at Balakote, Mendhar, adding that sagacity lies in acknowledging the realities and shedding the baggage of the past.

The former Chief Minister reverted back to the Indo-Pak hostilities in nineties and said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had invited President Parvez Musharraf despite Kargil incursion and his political wisdom worked in terms of ceasefire agreement which brought cheer in the lives of border people for a pretty long time. “Why can’t Vajpayee spirit be emulated by his political inheritors”, he said and cautioned against extreme positions that could lead to devastation and destruction in the entire region.

National Conference chief said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had decided their future in 1947 by acceding to Mahatma Gandhi’s secular India and they will fight all machinations of reversing these well established credentials by polarizing forces.

He said India is not a religious specific but country of all, irrespective of religion, region and caste. This legacy cannot be trampled by fringe elements, currently holding the centre-stage in Indian politics, as majority of Hindus disapprove politics of polarization and division.

Without naming BJP, he said the current spell of governance in New Delhi has created chaos all over, with people feeling their identities threatened and thus taking to streets. In this context, he referred to current unrest over the dilution of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and said the minorities too were feeling unsafe due to reactionary politics.

 

 

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