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Kamal wants police to allow pro-freedom leaders carry out ‘peaceful’ election boycott campaign
Published on
Thursday, 20 March 2014
8:03 pm
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Srinagar: A senior National
Conference leader Wednesday said Jammu and Kashmir police should
allow the pro-freedom leaders to carryout 'peaceful' election boycott campaign.
Additional General Secretary of ruling National
Conference (NC) Mustafa Kamal said that the boycott call by pro-freedom leaders
in Kashmir carries no weight and people will defy their call in upcoming
elections.
Talking to GNS, Kamal, who is also the uncle of Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah, said: “In democracy, the election is a process by which
government is formed. The boycott call by resistance leaders is unnecessary and
useless.”
He said that in the past people of Kashmir defied the
boycott calls by resistance leaders and this time they will do the same. “See,
in 2008 Assembly Elections, 2009 Parliamentary elections and in Panchayati
elections, people came out and casted their vote. The voting percentage was high
despite boycott call, and this time they will come again because they are the
same people,” he said, adding: “they (resistance leaders) are calling for
boycott to save their nose.”
The National Conference leader urged police to allow
resistance leader to ‘peaceful anti-election campaign. “Police should not get
worried,” he said.
Kamal, however, said that the resistance leaders should
be only allowed to run boycott campaign ‘as long as they remain peaceful’. “It
is their democratic right to run boycott campaign. But, if they resort to
violence or create law and order problem, they should be dealt according to
law,” he said.
In a meeting held yesterday, police had reportedly formed
the list of alleged ‘troublemakers’ which include many resistance leaders and
activists –who would be rounded up before elections in order to ensure
smooth conduct of Parliamentary polls from next month.
Kamal claimed that elections are the sole way to solve
day-to-day problems and issues of the people. “People should vote and elect
government so that their issues would get resolved,” he said, adding: Elections
won’t affect Kashmir issue.
“Kashmir is political issue and it needs a political
solution. Elections aren’t solution of Kashmir. It is not a referendum. Those
who say that election is affecting Kashmir issue are actually misleading
people,” he said.
The NC leader praised Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for terming
election a ‘non-issue’, while lashed out at Syed Ali Shah Geelani and termed
him a ‘threat to peace’.
“Mirwaiz understands that it is a non-issue and we also
say it is a non-issue,” he said, adding: “Kashmir is an international issue and
everybody knows it.”
“Geelani is a threat to peace in Kashmir. Wherever he
goes, he disturbs peace and sparks violence. He is responsible for so many
deaths in Kashmir and is never for peace,” Kamal said.
“Geelani has no support in Kashmir. Nobody listens to
him. When he went to Sopore, he himself said that stone-pelting hurts his cause
but still nobody obeyed,” the NC leader said, adding: “empty vessels make much
noise.”
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir’s Agricultural Minister,
Ghulam Hasan Mir, opposed the boycott campaign by pro-freedom leaders and
termed it ‘unconstitutional’.
“Election process is constitutional and challenging this
process is unconstitutional. Calling for boycott of polls is incorrect,” he
told GNS.
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