TOUSEEF WANI
GANDERBAL, Sep 16: In a big setback to the National Conference, three District Development Council (DDC) members in Ganderbal on Thursday resigned from the basic membership of the party.
Talking to Kashmir Despatch, Mohammad Ashraf Ganaie, one of the three DDC members who resigned from the basic membership of National Conference said: “Today’s NC is not Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s NC. Its leadership has digressed from the path and democratic spirit of Late Sheikh Saheb. This Party does not follow the democratic principles anymore.”
Asked about the main reasons for his decision to quit the NC, Ganaie said that the recently announced organizational elections by the Party were ‘fake’ and just to hoodwink the NC members. “We were kept unaware about these so-called elections. They had already elected some people before this cosmetic exercise which even didn’t take place at all,” he added.
Beside Ganaie, the two DDC members who resigned from the basic membership of NC included Zahida Hameed (DDC Wakura-A) and Mohammad Yousuf Reshi (DDC Ganderbal-C). All the three including Ganaie had emerged victorious in recently held DDC elections on NC mandate. Today all of them submitted their resignations to Party’s district president Ganderbal and former MLA Ishfaq Jabbar.
In their resignation letter they wrote that they were snubbed while choosing delegates. “Unfortunately we have not been given any chance to serve the party as delegates. However, at this stage of life due to strong political reasons, we are unable to continue our association with the party,” the resignation letters read.
In her letter that along with other two resignation letters is in possession of Kashmir Despatch, Zahida has said: “…Your goodself is aware of the fact that our family, our ancestors are associated with National Conference and the party has recently announced Delegates but unfortunately we have not been given a chance to serve the party as Delegates. I had hoped that all the members would be given a chance at a good time. Unfortunately this was not the case and I can no longer stand by and watch helplessly.”
Ganaie who has remained Party block vice president Wakura said that he was not contacted for the Party’s organizational elections and the results were announced without any prior information to him or his other Party colleagues Ganderbal. “Nobody among us was contacted by the Party. The delegates were already chosen and not elected. It has come to know that the party had got some signatures from some party members and selected some people,” he added.
Ganaie informed that they have not been contacted by the Party after their resignation. “We have not decided to join any other Party. It is very unfortunate that my father was jailed with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and I was also associated with this party since my childhood. NC has completely deviated from its old democratic standards,” he added.
