“Only two things have reduced, I will grant that. Stone pelting is less; I won’t say it’s non-existent as it is not reported, and the government tends to bury the incidents that happen, but it is less. We do know that in the last year or two, there have been incidents of stone pelting linked to deaths of militants or situations in Palestine and what is happening on the ground in Gaza, but the media isn’t allowed to report the incidents that occur and figures don’t reflect it,” he said.
Hartal calls have stopped as those separatist leaders who are free don’t feel like giving such calls, and others are in jail, he said. If the separatists have stopped hartals because they have given up on their ideology and slogans, “then that’s a good thing”, he added.
“When we were in power, in 2012-2013, there were far less calls. No one likes hartals,” he said.
However, he added that there are no new investments in Kashmir that one can see on the ground, and figures that show an influx of tourists also seem “far from the ground reality”.
When asked if the people of Kashmir have accepted the abrogation of Article 370, considering the absence of protests on the ground, Abdullah said that the people realise that their struggle is going to be a long one.
“The people have neither forgotten nor have they moved on. This is still an issue people have an emotional attachment to. But they realise that nothing is going to change overnight, with this Supreme Court or with this government,” he said.
“People realise that the struggle for J&K and its status and its protection in the Constitution may be a long one,” he added.
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‘CAA has shown Muslims their place’
Speaking about Modi’s visit to Kashmir to inaugurate the renovated Hazratbal shrine Thursday, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections are expected to be held — a move being seen as part of the BJP’s outreach to the Muslim community — Abdullah said rather than development and improvement, things have gone backwards for the shrine.
He added that the inauguration of the shrine doesn’t carry any message of outreach for Muslims as the people of J&K have got the true picture with the notification of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) Monday.
“The people of J&K got the message from CAA. We know where exactly the BJP stands as far as Muslims are concerned. CAA is exclusionary, it has been designed to exclude Muslims and put us in our place,” Abdullah said.
“We as Muslims probably will be able to find refuge in countries like the UK, France, Canada and elsewhere, but not in a country like India, which was born on secular ideals, which was born of the belief that India is for all. India is not a country where Muslims will be able to find refuge or safety, which tells us where we are,” he added.
Asked about Modi’s comment that this was a new J&K the people of Kashmir had awaited for decades, and that he was relieved to see everyone in the Valley happy, Abdullah said this would have been an honest statement by the PM if the crowd he was addressing had all been there of their own free will.
He alleged that government employees were forced to attend that rally.
“I don’t think much happiness would have been visible on the faces of people who were there not by choice, but by force,” he said.
However, he added that if what the PM says is true, then he should let people vote for the government of their choice. “If people are happy and the PM sees that happiness, it will surely manifest in the votes.”
“I am sure he would want nothing more but for that happiness to grow. And for that happiness to manifest itself into votes for his party, the BJP would like to win J&K. Let’s have assembly elections and see how much happiness is there in the eyes of the people for the BJP and the central government,” he said.
‘Bring J&K into the one nation, one election umbrella’
Talking about the assembly elections in J&K, Abdullah said that PM Modi must push for simultaneous polls (with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections) and include J&K in the “one nation, one election umbrella”.
He said that his party, the NC, has been pushing for simultaneous polls (assembly as well as Lok Sabha).
“The PM himself has talked about ‘one nation, one election’. If you are looking for that, and assuming that by the next Parliament elections, you will have this process in place, then why not start now? This is a brilliant opportunity to bring in J&K into the one nation one election umbrella by having elections for assembly and Parliament simultaneously,” he said.
He added that J&K has not had an election in the past 10 years. “How long will people wait? We hope the EC will be brave and order elections for both J&K and Parliament at the same time.”
“As far as I know, the Supreme Court has ordered elections to be completed before 30 September this year. So there is no longer any doubt about the assembly elections; the only doubt is if simultaneous polls will take place,” he said.
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‘Door open for understanding with PDP in assembly polls’
When asked if there is a setback to the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as the National Conference has decided to contest all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley, which will pit the NC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) — the Valley’s two major mainstream parties — against each other, Abdullah said that the NC is very much part of the alliance.
He said that, based on all political inputs, past electoral understanding, and the way alliances work, it cannot be expected that one alliance member gives up a seat to another.
He said that in 50 percent of the seats, the National Conference is more than happy to work out an electoral understanding with the Congress and that it has been as flexible in this arrangement as possible.
Furthermore, the National Conference will keep its door open for some understanding with the PDP in the assembly elections later this year, he added.
“We will be more than happy if the Congress and the PDP are able to reach a working understanding. If the PDP supports all INDIA alliance candidates in the Parliament election, we will keep our door open for some understanding in the assembly elections later this year,” he said.
“We are a part of the INDIA alliance and we also stand firm to the commitments and ideals and the agenda that the PAGD (People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration) had, so we are not breaking up any alliance,” he said.
‘Once assembly takes shape, BJP will be nowhere’
Reiterating that the NC will never have an alliance with the BJP to form the government in Kashmir, Abdullah said that when the assembly finally takes shape, the BJP will be in no position to be part of any government.
“We never had an electoral alliance with the BJP and we have no intention or interest in any sort of electoral understanding or alliance with the party. I do not believe that when the assembly finally takes shape, the BJP will be in any position to be part of any government,” he said.
Abdullah, however, added that whichever government is elected in J&K, it will have a “working relationship with the Centre.”
Taking a jibe at a comment by Modi attacking family-run parties, saying they “ruin” the places they rule — from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu — Abdullah said, “(That) they have nothing new to say is itself indicative.”
“I would like one day for these leaders to be able to come and give the people of J&K some new vision other than this tried and tested one. Maybe one day they will have something else to say,” he added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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