IIOJK parties term Modi’s Srinagar speech mere rhetoric
Srinagar: The political parties in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have termed the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Srinagar speech mere rhetoric, sounding like an election rally as it skipped the major issues confronting the territory.
Narendra Modi addressed a so-called public rally at Bakhshi Stadium during his visit to Srinagar on Thursday.
While the Congress said that Modi has disappointed the people of IIOJK by avoiding the core issues of restoration of democracy and statehood, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said the Indian PM has made it a habit of targeting political parties over dynastic politics. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said Modi’s visit to Kashmir was only meant to drum support for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Interacting with reporters in Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah while referring to Modi’s remarks criticising dynastic politics said, “In every speech, the prime minister makes a particular target for this thing.” “…I lost an election as a chief minister because people rejected me at that time. So, where is dynastic rule?” On Modi’s remark that IIOJK is “breathing freely” after the abrogation of Article 370, Farooq Abdullah called for setting up a commission to bring out the reality.
His party, in a statement, said Modi’s Kashmir visit and his speech was disappointing and that it failed to meet the expectations of people.
NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said the Indian PM’s speech mainly consisted of juggling numbers and rebranding old projects, offering nothing substantial for the people. “It is disappointing that there was no mention of the return of Kashmiri Pandits, who have been at the forefront of the BJP’s petty politics,” he said.
IIOJK Congress leader Ravinder Sharma said the people were pinning hopes on Modi touching issues of concern. However, he said, there was no mention of them and it included the restoration of democracy in IIOJK.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, on the other hand, said that government employees were forcibly ferried to the venue of the prime minister’s event in Srinagar. “Government employees are being herded at five am in sub-zero temperatures into vehicles at Budgam bus stand ferrying them to the PM’s rally. Disheartening to see employees being forcibly mobilised to paint a pretty picture that all is well post-2019 and that people here are celebrating their own collective disempowerment and humiliation,” she said in a post on X.
“Kashmiris know that everything spoken at Bakshi stadium will be to showcase the so-called benefits of illegal abrogation of Article 370 akin to rubbing salt to their wounds,” the PDP chief said.
CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the administration, at all levels, is operating akin to BJP parachraks. In a post on X, he said that the forced mobilisation of employees and other sections of the society for PM’s rally was bound to further alienate the Kashmiris. “This approach is poised to subvert the democratic and legitimate rights of the people further”, Tarigami added.
