Engineer Rashid criticises NC, PDP for failing people

Anantnag, Sep 13: Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief and Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid Friday criticised the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for their failure to represent the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“If they had represented the aspirations of people, today they would have not turned to me,” Rashid said addressing a rally in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Rashid walked out of jail on Wednesday and landed at Srinagar airport a day later.

After addressing a public rally in the Delina area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday, he travelled in a cavalcade of dozens of vehicles to south Kashmir where he addressed a series of rallies.

Rashid said that it was strange that both the NC and the PDP were terming him a “vote cutter”.

“I won the election from the Baramulla seat and they are calling a winner a vote cutter,” he said.

Rashid said that these parties over the last five years did not talk about the Kashmiris and their rights while he was in jail.

“I was put in jail because I was speaking up for the oppressed and the poor,” he said.

Rashid said that he was the only leader who was lodged at Tihar Jail.

He said that only he knew how he spent more than five years in jail.

Criticising the Congress, Rashid termed the party as the “worst enemy”.

“If Rahul Gandhi issues a statement promising the restoration of Article 370 once he gets a majority in the Parliament, I will withdraw from Karnah to Lakhanpur,” Rashid said.

He blamed the former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti for sending youth to jail and killing the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Rashid also blamed the NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah for betraying the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

However, he said that his struggle was not against the NC or the PDP “but is focused on the restoration of Article 370”.