Srinagar: Sajjad Lone, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC), has said that National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah appears detached from the realities of Kashmir adding that his approach seems superficial as if he was a “tourist” here.
In an interview with Republic, Sajjad Lone said, “Omar Abdullah’s assault on Kashmiri language was a bit deplorable. He better speak in Urdu. He is a tourist here. Omar Abdullah is unlike a Kashmiri. I can sit with Kashmiris and talk with them in Kashmiri, he cannot do that. He is not a part of Kashmir’s landscape. He is not one of them.”
Questions Omar Abdullah over Afzal Guru hanging
“Hangings of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhatt were done with collaboration of NC. Today they are in alliance with Congress . If Omar felt so bad then why he did not tell Rahul Gandhi about it,” he said.
Over recent performances in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Lone said that his party likely failed to inspire people.
“Wins and losses are for a period of 5 years. We lost but I am happy that we ran a very good campaign…We could not inspire people. Maybe people did not want us to win,” he said.
Lone further said that Peoples Democratic Party and National Conference have to be questioned over their approach towards Kashmir in recent times.
“We have a right to criticise them, especially NC. It has been there for 70-80 years now. They have been in power for 30-40 years,” he said.
Sajjad Lone Speaks To Republic | WATCH
Regretting the decision on stitching an alliance with the Apni Party, Sajjad Lone said, “We should not have made an alliance with the Apni Party. It was a bad idea.”
On his remarks over calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “big brother” in 2014, Sajjad Gani Lone said that such comments are a thing of a past and are not relevant anymore.
“How many times have you asked Omar Abudullah that he became a foreign minister in the BJP government. I had said it once and it’s been 10 years. Joining hands with BJP is not only a sin committed by me but it was also committed by PDP and NC,” he said.
Sajjad Lone exuded confidence over fighting elections from Kupwara in upcoming elections in the valley.
“My party workers forced me to fight from Kupwara…This seems to be one of the safest seats but I am not going to bask in the overconfidence. I take every election seriously,” Lone said.
Jamaat-e-Islami Have Right to Contest elections
Sajjad Lone said that one cannot deny Jamaat-e-Islami of contesting elections adding that they opted not to contest elections after elections were rigged in 1987. He also elaborated on the concept of ‘victors and victims’.
“Jem chose not to fight after elections were rigged in 1987. Any party who stopped contesting elections after that are welcome now. You cannot deny their right to contest elections,” Loen said.
White-collar Murders Were Rampant in Kashmir
“I have a concept of victims and victors. Victims are those who have faced PSA, went to jails and graves. Victors are those who were at the forefront of firing at people, torturing them and sent people to jails. Our mainstream is packed with victors. Especially parties which were close to New Delhi. When any victim wants to join mainstream , victors call victims collaborators and say they have been handpicked by agencies and literally tell violent elements to kill them. This is white collar murderer,” he said.
The upcoming polls in Jammu and Kashmir mark the first assembly polls in Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370. The Jammu and Kashmir region is divided into 90 Assembly constituencies, including 7 reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs).
According to the Election Commission of India, there are 8.806 million eligible voters in the region.
In the previous Assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) secured 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) won 25 seats, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) obtained 15 seats, and the Congress gained 12 seats.
