Jammu: PDP MLA Waheed Ur Rehman Para on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to use his government’s mandate to press the Centre to initiate meaningful dialogue with the youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
Participating in the motion of thanks in the Lieutenant Governor’s address in the Legislative Assembly here, he said the government cannot talk about good governance when the vision document is absent and devoid of compassion, healing and empathy.
“Omar Abdullah is enjoying a huge mandate with 50 MLAs and represents the J&K…use this mandate to talk to the people. When you meet the home minister (Amit Shah) on his arrival here tomorrow (Thursday), advocate for dialogue between the Centre and the youth. Let them not talk to Pakistan but talk to the locals and listen to them,” Para said.
Referring to the 2024 assembly elections and the formation of an elected government, he said on the surface, everything looks normal, just like it used to be before.
“But the reality is that the whole process itself is powerless….No matter how much we blame each other, trade accusations, or make remarks, the truth is that a major structural change that took place on August 5, 2019, will not simply be reversed,” he said.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by the National Conference government after the downgrading of the erstwhile state into a Union territory, he said they are not saying that what happened on August 5 2019, can be undone overnight.
“August 5, 2019, was not just an event—it was a process. Restoring Article 370, statehood, and other related matters will take time. We understand that the government needs time; there is no doubt about that,” Para said.
However, he said at the same time, there are many areas where this government needs to pay serious attention, especially to address the hardships faced by ordinary people in Kashmir.
Para, in his speech, also touched upon the terror module, having at least two J&K doctors, allegedly responsible for the Red Fort blast in Delhi last year.
“There was an agitation leading to the closure of Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College. Why was it shut down? Because they thought that if our children became doctors, they might become suicide bombers. There was an attack (in Delhi), but the question is, why did it happen?” he said.
Para said 63 per cent of the population in Kashmir is of youth. “Why do the youth of Kashmir take up the gun today? Why is the Kashmiri youth silent today, even after development claims, progress and elections—despite having a Chief Minister with 50 seats? Somewhere, there is a sense of defeat among the people of Jammu and Kashmir which needs to be addressed.”
He said the essence of democracy lay in people’s participation and respect for human dignity, adding that development had also taken place during the L-G’s rule and that funds were allocated for development.
“But in Kashmir, somewhere, it was felt that this peace and development are at the cost of their dignity and also at the cost of their rights. After August 2019, both groups of Hurriyat Conference and many of its constituents, including Jamaat-e-Islami, were banned, and many were jailed. We in the mainstream also tasted detention,” he said, adding the process is still ongoing with people’s houses getting seized, employees being terminated, and NIA raids continuing.
“I am telling all this because you fight with BJP and other opposition members in the house, browbeat them at the strength of your numbers but we do not see that anger when you are in Delhi, meeting the Prime Minister and Home Minister. At this time, you are our advocate. There is an issue of prisoners, and we know Omar Abdullah has no authority to bring them back, but he does have the right to speak for them,” he said.
PTI
PDP MLA asks CM to use mandate to push Centre for dialogue with J&K youth
