Tauseef Ahmad
Bandipora, Aug 22: National Conference senior leader and former deputy speaker, MLA Gurez Nazir Ahmad Khan on Thursday said the central government in the parliamentary elections used some teams against the National Conference, and they are again using them in the assembly elections as well.
Speaking with Kashmir Despatch, Nazir Gurezi said that Kashmiri people have suffered after the abrogation of Article 370, and restoring statehood and providing free 200 units of electricity are priorities in the National Conference’s manifesto.
“The PSA was brought in Kashmir only to control illegal cutting of forests and book smugglers, but it had been misused by the government in Kashmir. Now, people have been booked in JKPDC and other related cases under PSA,” he lamented.
Claiming the LG’s claims of the cheapest power supply in Kashmir, he said that for a single bulb, people have to pay more than a thousand in the valley for their own power projects.
He also said that the much-awaited assembly elections will now be held in the valley, but it is not a gift for Kashmiris as the Election Commission is acting. He said it is the democratic right of the people.
“Removing the Public Safety Act (PSA) is now the urgent need in Kashmir, as it had been misused by the government.”
“No major development happened after the abrogation of Article 370 in Gurez and Bandipora. People of Bandipora have been demanding a national highway status like other districts, but nobody is listening to them.”
He promised people that if the National Conference comes into power, the first thing he will speak about will be the national highway for Gurez and Bandipora. “The emotional campaign that helped AIP to win with a majority was backed by the center, and they will use them again in the assembly elections as well.”
“The National Conference is a people’s party, and Kashmiris now know whom to choose to represent them best. The emotional politics that the center ran in the last election will not work anymore in the valley,” he further added.
