Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday (October 7) accused the member of parliament and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief Engineer Rashid of bringing money from Pakistan into Kashmir while casting aspersions over his bail order.
“Who did he give the money to? Where are his slogans that Kashmir will merge with Pakistan and that there should be plebiscite in Kashmir? How can he be the well-wisher of Kashmiris?” an angry Abdullah asked reporters at his residence in Srinagar.
The NC chief’s accusations came after a press conference in Srinagar by Rashid, who has been accused of terror funding and is out on bail, who said that a party or a coalition which has enough seats to prove majority in the legislature should not be tempted to form the government till the time the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir was restored.
The results of the assembly election are scheduled to be declared on October 8 (tomorrow)
“For five years, the Gupkar alliance didn’t do anything. Now that the election has taken place, it is my humble request and suggestion to the INDIA bloc, PDP, Peoples Conference, Apni Party and other parties that we should resist forming the government unless the statehood of J&K is restored,” Rashid said.
The AIP chief, who did not seem confident about the performance of his party in the assembly election, said that all the regional parties should focus on the issue of urging the union government to restore J&K’s statehood while demanding restoration of Darbar Move, a Dogra era-practice under which the seat of J&K’s administration shifted between the twin capitals of Jammu and Srinagar.
“(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji has already changed the goalposts (of mainstream parties). It is time for us to come together and demand our prestige back. If they need the support of AIP for this, we are ready,” he said, adding that the issue of government formation was not a priority for his party.
Rashid’s views were also echoed by Ghulam Hassan Mir, senior leader of the Apni Party, a BJP-ally.
Hitting back, Abdullah, a former Union minister, cast aspersions on the order of a Delhi court on October 1 which extended the bail of Rashid.
The AIP leader was arrested by the National Investigations Agency in a terror funding case and bailed by the Delhi court on September 10, days ahead of the start of the assembly election, to allow him to campaign.
“He was in jail for five years, so which power brought him to J&K?” Abdullah said, “He was supposed to return to jail on October 2 but he has been given time till October 16 now. I am surprised. Which side he is on? Is he with the people or is the BJP his master? Has he ever spoken about (the issues of) people.”
Abdullah’s son and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said that Rashid was “play(ing) straight in to the hands of the BJP”, “The BJP would like nothing more than to extend central rule in J&K if they aren’t in a position to form a government,” he said in a post on X.
A possible tie-up
The outburst by the NC chief comes on a day when the results of the assembly election are barely hours away and the INDIA bloc comprising Congress, NC and some smaller parties is widely expected to emerge as the single largest coalition in Jammu and Kashmir.
Some exit polls have, however, suggested that the Congress-led alliance could fall short of the halfway mark of 45 members once the results are out on Tuesday. In that situation, the coalition will have to warm up to its constituent, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mehbooba Mufti, and other smaller parties and independents for support.
Although there are reports quoting unnamed PDP leaders that the party was going to support the INDIA bloc in its government formation efforts, the PDP president’s daughter and media adviser Iltija Mufti, who contested the assembly election from Bijbehara constituency, termed these reports as “unnecessary speculations” on X.
Mufti, who is facing a close contest with senior NC leader Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri, said that the final decision on the issue of supporting INDIA bloc was going to be taken by the party’s “senior leadership”.
Abdullah, however, welcomed the decision, “There have been no talks (with PDP). But I extend my heartfelt gratitude and congratulate her (Mehbooba) from my heart that she also wishes to see J&K out of this difficult time. If we come together, we will be able to work faster,” he said.
The NC chief also warned the Lieutenant Governor’s (LG) office against nominating five members of the next legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir without the consultation of the elected government, “His excellency must desist from doing that,” he said.
Abdullah added: “When a government is in power, that government has the right to nominate (five MLAs) and the LG has to forward that list back and agree. We are not going to put people (in the assembly) who are not worth it.”
The J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, under which Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and downgraded into a Union territory, has empowered the LG to nominate five members of legislative assembly on the advice of ‘council of ministers’, which will take the final strength of the legislature to 95.
However, there are speculations that the LG, who is appointed by the political dispensation in the union home ministry, could be tempted to nominate these members without the counsel of ministers, which could flip the balance of power in Jammu and Kashmir in the favour of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party if the INDIA bloc falls short of the majority mark.
