State Vote
J&K turnout a vote against Delhi's oppression - MP Rashid
This story was originally published at 16:44 IST on 20 September 2024
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By Kuldeep Singh
SRINAGAR – The 61% voter turnout in the first phase of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday is an expression of the people against the oppression of their voices by New Delhi, according to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Lok Sabha member from Baramulla.
Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, contested the Lok Sabha elections in May from jail and defeated National Conference Vice-President and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah by a margin of over 200,000 votes.
Rashid, who was arrested in August 2019 by the National Investigation Agency on charges of terror funding, was granted interim bail last week to campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party is contesting 34 out of the 47 seats in the Kashmir division in the assembly elections.
"I am sure that Kashmiris will not disappoint me," Rashid told Informist in an interview.
The National Conference has questioned the timing of Rashid's bail, alleging that he is a proxy of the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide the votes in the valley. "I don't want to respond. It will lower my stature because what I stand for is much bigger than what they say against me," he says.
Rashid’s party has an alliance with independents backed by Jamat-e-Islami, a group banned by the government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Following are edited excerpts from Rashid's interview:
Q. The voting turnout in the first phase of elections was around 61. How do you read this turnout?
A. It is good if people show their faith in democracy, but it is up to the government of India to keep the faith of people in the democratic system by respecting the people's mandate and fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Q. For whom was this vote for?
A. It is not a vote for Modi's Naya Kashmir. It is a vote against his oppression and suppression and people want to tell him that we are not with you because you have destroyed Kashmir and you are there only to create a wedge within society and suppress our voice.
Q. What is your view on the abrogation of Article 370?
A. It was unconstitutional and, obviously we want to restore it.
Q. How will you restore Article 370?
A. We want to restore it through a peaceful political struggle, which I am doing. That is why I am in jail, sir.
Q. Employment is one of the major problems in Jammu and Kashmir. How will you resolve it?
A. I am not in power and I have never been in power.
Q. If your party comes to power, then how will you address the issue of unemployment?
A. Then you will see I have a road map. Certainly, I have a road map for that.
Q. What is the roadmap?
A. See we have the capacity to generate 30,000 MW of power, but we are not focusing on that. Tourism – there are tourist destinations, which are vertical destinations, be it in Budgam, Beerwah or Lolab. We will explore them. They are talking about setting up industries, but I don't think Kashmir is a place fit for industry. We can have entrepreneurs, local entrepreneurs where we can invest in environment-friendly industries and we can create job opportunities. As a member of Parliament, I will show you, that once I am released, I can take the Kashmiri youth to the different corporate sectors in the country and outside. I have a plan to take hundreds and thousands of Kashmiri youth to the entire world, who will become ambassadors of Kashmir and also get job opportunities.
Q. What are the avenues, other than industries, for the development of Jammu and Kashmir?
A. I have told you about tourism. If we develop it in a very organised manner, we can generate a lot of employment. Our fruit and horticulture sector, there is a lot of scope for that. See even our agriculture sector, in Kashmir, we just get one crop from the paddy fields or from the agriculture fields. Nobody is working on that so that we have multiple crops in one year. So there's a lot of scope.
Q. How do you react to the allegations that you are the B-team of the BJP?
A. I don't want to respond. It will lower my stature because what I stand for is much bigger than what they say against me. And people have given the verdict by defeating all of them. So they have to cry, obviously.
Q Would you be open to alliances after the elections?
A. I can't say that. I'm a very small person. Let us wait till Oct 8 (date of counting).
Q How many seats are you expecting?
A. How can I say? I am sure that Kashmiris will not disappoint me.
Edited by Saji George Titus
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