Farooq hints at fighting polls with Gupkar allies

NC chief claims situation in Kashmir worse than 90s

New Delhi, Dec. 26: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, who is the chairperson of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), has hinted his party will fight the next Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir together with the constituents of the new coalition to defeat “communal forces”. Talking about the situation in Kashmir, Mr Abdullah claimed it is worse than the 90s — when militancy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir — because the youth feel they have no place in modern India and have lost faith in the government in Delhi.

“I am sure when the elections come, we’ll sit down together again to defeat the divisive and communal forces,” Mr Abdullah, who has been a Union minister and three-time chief minister of the erstwhile state, told PTI recently.

The PAGD is a five-party alliance comprising the National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI(M), Awami National Conference and the Peoples Movement. It seeks the restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir which was revoked by the Centre in August 2019.

“What is created is a combination of all parties to fight for the rights and identity of our people — the Dogras, the Kashmiris and others. We recently had a meeting and we all condemned what the delimitation commission has done (based on its preliminary report which recommended six seats for Jammu and one in Kashmir besides reserving nine seats for Scheduled Tribes and seven for Scheduled Castes),” Mr Abdullah said.

Outrightly rejecting the recommendations, he also asked how the government would deal with groups like Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs who are also demanding political reservation.

“How will people from all sections be there? Who does not take these things into consideration? That is why we had an Upper House where the people who could not come into Assembly were brought so that their voices could be heard,” the NC leader said.