‘Want peace & dignity, not graveyard for Kashmiris’

Srinagar: A day after he was released from Delhi’s Tihar jail on interim bail to campaign for the J&K assembly elections, Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, landed in Srinagar and vowed to fight for the people of Kashmir, who, he claimed, were short-changed during past govts in the state and continued to suffer under the Modi govt at the Centre for more than five years now.As he exited the terminal, an emotional Rashid kissed the Kashmir soil and broke down. Speaking to reporters at the airport, he asserted that he wanted respect and “peace with dignity for Kashmiris, and not the peace of the graveyard”. “I will fight for my people who punctured PM Narendra Modi’s claims about his idea of ‘naya Kashmir’, through their votes,” he said.Asked about the allegations levelled against him by NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti of being “BJP’s proxy”, Rashid said: “I am fighting a battle for the people, which Omar and Mehbooba don’t have the courage to do. My fight is much bigger than what these two are trying.” They were invisible for the last five years, and that’s why they lost in the parliamentary elections, added the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief, who had defeated Omar in Baramulla. He had contested as an independent candidate as AIP is not recognised by the Election Commission.Rashid later headed for Baramulla where he addressed a public gathering in Delina, and called for restoration of Article 370 and a permanent resolution to the “Kashmir issue”.The MP thanked the people for ensuring his landslide victory, and said the mandate was not for him but against Modi govt’s model of “naya Kashmir”, and its Aug 5, 2019 decision to revoke J&K’s special status and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories.He also addressed a press conference in Srinagar, where he said he would extend full support to the INDIA bloc if it gave a “written assurance” to bring a resolution in Parliament seeking restoration of Article 370.Seeking support from the people to give him “at least 40 seats” in the upcoming elections, Rashid said if given a powerful mandate, he would stage a sit-in outside PM Modi’s residence in Delhi. “…What will we do there? We will do something unimaginable for the people of Kashmir,” the AIP chief said.Interestingly, AIP has fielded 19 candidates as independents, but wants other smaller parties and independent candidates to join him.Once again dismissing the charges levelled by Omar and Mehbooba, Rashid labelled them instead as “BJP agents”. NC had released a manifesto “promising this and that”, he said, asking why “they couldn’t do the same when they were in power”.Attacking PDP and Mehbooba, Rashid reminded the party about its patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s statement that a mandate in favour of PDP was a must to stop BJP’s entry into J&K. “Then what happened? Same PDP provided a launching pad to BJP who bulldozed our dreams,” he said.‘No proxy in poll fray; it’s oppn propaganda’: BJPSenior J&K BJP functionary Ravinder Raina denied his party had fielded “proxy” candidates as independents. “If any independent is contesting the election, it is their constitutional right. How can they be termed as BJP’s proxy? This is a propaganda by NC, Congress and PDP, who are losing ground in Kashmir,” he said. Speaking at an event in Srinagar, Raina also claimed BJP would form govt in J&K “with full majority”. “The next chief minister will be from BJP. There is no question of joining hands with Engineer Rashid,” he said.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Valentine's day wishes, messages and quotes !