Targets Omar, Mufti, BJP
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 12: Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief and Member Parliament Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid today warned Centre of serious repercussions if it suppresses the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In his first public address after being released from Tihar Jail, Rashid cautioned that if the Centre continues to ignore the “genuine aspirations” of people of Jammu and Kashmir, there will be “serious repercussions”.
The AIP Chief said he wants to “make it clear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the people of Kashmir know where their loyalties lie”.
“Today, it is evident that Engineer Rashid, along with Hurriyat leaders and the youth of Kashmir cannot be suppressed by jailing us,” he said.
Criticising the Central Government’s approach to Kashmir, Rashid referred to PM Modi’s “Naya Kashmir” narrative as a “drama” and said it had failed to address the real concerns of the Kashmiri people.
“It was not a ‘New Kashmir’; it was a Kashmir of oppression, misery and draconian laws like UAPA,” he remarked, adding that the people of Kashmir will not compromise their faith or dignity. “Kashmir wants peaceful resolution, not continued oppression,” he added.
The AIP chief rejected claims that his election success was based on sympathy votes. “The votes were not cast out of pity but were instead a powerful rejection of the Government’s policies in Kashmir,” he said.
He dismissed allegations made by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had questioned AIP’s funding sources. “This gathering is a response to her accusations. AIP is not funded by external forces. Our supporters spend their own money to back our cause,” he asserted.
He said Mufti should have apologised to the people, as it was the PDP that facilitated the BJP’s entry into Kashmir.
In a direct message to Home Minister Amit Shah, Engineer Rashid refuted claims that the situation in Kashmir had improved. “Kashmiris are not stone-pelters by choice, but we will not be silenced by any tactic,” he warned, urging the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with the people of Kashmir.
Rashid said he will not bow to the policies “imposed” on the region, adding that responding to the remarks made by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti would be a “disservice to the sacrifices of the people”.
Asked about allegations levelled against him by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Rashid said “I am fighting the battle which Omar and Mufti can’t fight. My fight is much bigger than these two.”
The AIP chief said that Omar Abdullah failed to represent aspirations of the people of J&K during last five years.
“Omar did not talk about the people in the last five and a half years. If he had, he wouldn’t have had to remove his skullcap to seek votes in Ganderbal, or contest elections from two places. I won from jail with a margin of over two lakh votes,” he said.
He said that NC and PDP are building a narrative against him, thinking the people of Kashmir are fools. “But the people have already delivered their verdict on June 4th, Omar Abdullah lost, Mehbooba Mufti lost, and had there been a candidate in South Kashmir, we would have won easily. My fight is not limited to Article 370. Since my time as MLA, I’ve been saying that settling the Kashmir issue is in the interest of the entire subcontinent. For India to become a world leader, they must settle the Kashmir issue”.
“I appeal to my people to make Omar Abdullah CM because it’s his party’s habit to join hands with those they initially oppose, like they did with Congress. If people give me a mandate, I will only grow stronger and pursue their cause”, he said.
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