Poonch (Jammu-Kashmir): Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said that demanding the restoration of the Special Status of the erstwhile state is not begging, but the right of the people and they are fighting for it.
Addressing a public meeting in Mander on the fifth day of his visit, Abdullah said, “There is no way for peace in the country except good relations between India and Pakistan. In that case, we, too, can live with dignity and peace.”
"Reiterating our commitment to continue the struggle for the restoration of Aritcle 370 and 35-A, we are not begging, we are fighting for our rights," he said.
He also said that law and order can be restored in the region only through the Indo-Pak dialogue.
He said that all the Prime Ministers of the country, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Manmohan Singh, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had held peace talks, even the present Prime Minister Modi met the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. So what's the point of talking now?
He also said that after Independence in 1947, all the states were integrated into India, but even then, Jammu and Kashmir was the only state, which did not merge, but was annexed on one condition-Referendum. Furthermore, speaking about Article 370 being temporary, he said, " The article was temporary because the people of Jammu and Kashmir wanted to hold a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations and after that, it has to be abolished. Jawaharlal Nehru had also announced in Parliament as the Prime Minister that if the people of Jammu and Kashmir would choose to secede from India. We will be sorry for it, but we will not stop them."
Abdullah also expressed surprise over the logic being advanced by the Central leadership that the statehood will be restored after the completion of the delimitation of constituencies and holding of elections.
“It is strange,” he said and recalled the all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few months ago in which he took up these issues.
“Modi had at that point of time asserted that the gap between New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir would have to be bridged by winning over the hearts. Hearts cannot be won by undermining the status of Jammu and Kashmir, which was bifurcated and then downgraded."
Abdullah further said it must have happened for the first time that a state has been downgraded and transitioned into a Union territory.
“The urges and aspirations of the people have to be fulfilled for lasting peace,” he underlined.
READ: Abdullah expresses surprise over Shah's comment on restoration of J-K statehood
