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| Cong seeking another mandate for Farooq, NC denouncing it | | Blistering attack on State Govt | | Rustam
JAMMU, Apr 28: What is it that is going on in the Kashmir Valley at a time when the NC candidates are facing a stiff challenge from the PDP and political pundits are opining that the NC is unlikely to repeat its 2009 performance in the Valley? Indeed, all is not well with the ruling coalition comprising the NC and the Congress. The NC leadership, which badly needs the support of the Congress to repeat its 2009 performance, is appreciating and denouncing the Congress at the same time and the local Congress leaders speaking in different languages as far as their approach towards the NC is concerned. Infact, both the parties are vertically divided as far as their attitude towards each other is concerned.
What happened in Kashmir on Sunday constitutes a classical example of strange politics that is being indulged in by the NC and the Congress.
On Sunday, JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz held a public meeting at Alamgari Bazar, Srinagar, to garner support for NC president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah who is the NC candidate from Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency.
Addressing the election rally, Saif-ud-Din Soz urged his party workers to work overtime to ensure the victory of Farooq Abdullah, who, he said, could "fight the communal forces in the Lok Sabha that have been unleashed by Narendra Modi". "Kashmir needs a powerful voice in the Lok Sabha and Farooq Abdullah can fulfill that requirement,' he said, adding "it is an opportunity for people of Srinagar City to send Farooq Abdullah to Lok Sabha with a thumping majority.
At Nambla village in Uri, on the contrary, senior NC leader, party's ideologue and Member of Rajya Sabha Mohammad Shafi Uri, who was also seeking mandate for the NC candidate Sharif-ud-Din Shariq, instead of appreciating the Congress's support to the NC candidates, lambasted not only the Congress party but also the NC-led coalition Government. Lambasting the Congress, Shafi Uri accused it of "failing to fulfill their promise of providing absolute autonomy to Kashmir". "In 1996, militancy was on peak and central Government was under Congress party who promised that autonomy will be given to Kashmir. But nothing happened till date in this regard," he said. In other words, he sought to arouse passions against the Congress party overlooking the fact that what he said could have adverse impact on the Congress cadres. Uri is one place in the Valley from where the Congress candidate won the Assembly election twice in 2002 and 2008. By making critical comments against the Congress, Shafi Uri did create additional difficulties for Sharif-ud-Din Shariq, who is already facing a tough challenge from PDP candidate Muzaffar Hussain Beig.
Shafi Uri not only denounced the Congress party and vouched for an absolute autonomy, but he also took on the Omar Abdullah-led coalition Government. He accused it of not doing anything for the people of Valley in general and youth of Kashmir in particular. "The state Government has failed to reach out to the youth of the Valley. They (Government) have failed to provide employment opportunities to the youth who are sitting idle at their homes. I lost the assembly elections twice i.e. in 2002 and 2008. Since then no development has taken place here, even Government has done nothing for the employment of young youth of Uri," he reportedly said.
His statements on the Congress party and the NC-Congress coalition Government clearly indicated his contempt both for his own party and the Congress. It appears he addressed the election rally in Uri not to seek people's mandate for the NC and its candidates Farooq Abdullah and Sharif-ud-Din Shariq, but to damage their poll prospects by saying what he said. The PDP leadership must be laughing at Shafi Uri. |
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