Tauseef Ahmad
Srinagar, July 18: Former Minister and ex-MLA from Bandipora, Usman Majid, on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the ruling National Conference (NC), dismissing its proposed protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the restoration of statehood as a “drama” aimed at reviving the party’s declining political fortunes.
Speaking to reporters, Majid alleged that the National Conference had abandoned its core electoral promise of restoring Articles 370 and 35A and was instead focusing on statehood, which he said had already been promised by the Union government.
“I have been saying for the last eight months that they are sitting in the lap of the BJP. The National Conference is now comfortable with the BJP because they have accepted the abrogation of Article 370,” Majid said.
He argued that the party had secured a “landslide majority” by promising to fight for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A rather than statehood. “People voted for Article 370, not statehood. Statehood has already been promised by both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the floor of Parliament. The National Conference has to answer why it has failed to deliver on the issue for which it sought votes,” he said.
Majid claimed that the party believed people would forget its election promises but insisted that “people will not forget.” He accused the National Conference of having “a history of betrayals” dating back to 1947 and alleged that it had repeatedly misled the people of Jammu and Kashmir for political gain.
The former minister further alleged that the party routinely blamed the Centre for adverse developments while claiming credit for any positive changes. “They don’t have an agenda. They have exposed themselves completely and are living in a fool’s paradise if they think such protests will restore their popularity,” he said.
Referring to the NC’s planned demonstration in the national capital, Majid said protests and sit-ins would not lead to the restoration of statehood. “This Jantar Mantar protest is a drama. They know their political graph has gone down and they think such programmes will bring back their popularity. I don’t see that happening,” he said.
Majid also criticised both the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleging that the two regional parties had historically remained close to the Centre while misleading the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
