Srinagar, April 16: The Awami National Conference (ANC) has urged voters to vote in favour of National Conference (NC) candidates in three Parliamentary Constituencies (PC) in Kashmir and Congress in Jammu region.
ANC chief Begum Khalida Shah, sister of NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah, in a statement on Tuesday afternoon has directed all ranks and file of ANC to vote for the candidates of NC in Kashmir division and Congress candidates in Jammu and Ladakh divisions for Lok Sabha.He urged her party workers to ensure defeat of divisive forces hell bent upon dividing Jammu and Kashmir on regional and religious basis .
“Kashmiri Culture of Hindu Muslim Sikh unity is under threat,” Begum Khalida alleged. Immediately on her arrival from the US to New Delhi on Tuesday, ANC President has called upon all secular forces of the state to get united on one platform against those forces threatening removal of Special Provisions of Article 35- A and Article 370 enshrine enshrined in the Constitution of the country and guaranteed by the forefathers and parliament of new India in 1947 .
“Do you want a headless India, asked Begum Khalida Shah ? She further added that it was the guarantee of the builders of modern India which included Sardar Patel and Dr Shyama Prasad Mukerjhee, responsible for introducing Art 370 into the Constitution and were the members of the team specially constituted by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru that drafted the Kashmir case for the security council”, she said.
Begum Khalida said Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Amit Shah and Arun Jatiley will have to accept this reality of Kashmir and stop misinforming the Nation for vote bank politics. “I am witness to Dr Shyama Prasad’s unfortunate death in Kashmir. My father Sheikh Mohd Abdullah always demanded a judicial probe into Dr Mukerjhee” demise. Till date, no one has dared to open that case to reveal the truth “ Begum Khalida disclosed.
She further warned, “no one can scrap Article 370 and 35 A, which binds Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian union. What Kashmir needs today is a peaceful resolution of the vexed issue trapped between two warring nuclear powers. Hounding of political adversaries with NIA, Public Safety Acts, Income Tax raids and closure of National High Ways are futile exercises. We have gone through these kinds of witch hunting and persecution for years under Kashmir conspiracy case”, she said.
ANC Chief further said that her party was the driving force in uniting all political and civil society groups in the state for protection of Article 370 and 35- A in Supreme Court. Now it will be our top most priority to field a credible and an honorable blend of youth and experienced persons as representatives of people of the state in the forthcoming legislative assembly elections.
They have to ensure protection of Article 370 and 35 A along with restoration of state laws as they stood on August 9, 1953. We are committed to achieve this goal with a unified strategy for all the three regions of the state, by stitching an impregnable alliance.
