Book Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders for 1987 poll rigging: Sajad Lone

Naseer A Ganai

Srinagar, April 3

People’s Conference chairman and the party’s candidate from North Kashmir Sajad Lone today said the biggest confidence building measure towards Kashmiris would be that FIR should be lodged against Farooq Abdullah and the Congress leaders who were involved in the 1987 rigging of the elections, believed to trigger the anti-India insurgency in the Valley.

“I firmly believe that the most significant confidence-building measure for Kashmiris would be the registration of an FIR, naming Farooq Sahab (Farooq Abdullah), Congress leaders, and bureaucrats involved in the rigging of the 1987 elections in J&K. After all, one lakh people were killed. Thousands were jailed and several others left handicapped. There is an army of orphans and widows in Kashmir. There is no accountability or justice,” Lone said. “No one is asking them (National Conference) what happened in 1987, why violence erupted after that,” Lone said addressing media. "My father participated in elections till 1987 but not after that. That is why we do not use his photos in our campaign,” he said.

Biggest CBM towards Kashmiris

The biggest CBM towards Kashmiris will be an FIR in which Farooq sahib, Cong leaders and bureaucrats are named for rigging the election. —Sajad Lone, PC Chief

While criticising the present government policy of denying passports to people whose relatives have adverse CID reports against them, Lone said the government cannot punish son in place of his father and father in place of his son. “Where will these people go? You are not issuing them passports. You are not allowing them to have government job. You are not giving them loan even. Where will they go? You are excluding 60 per cent population,” Lone said.

The adverse CID report and other lists, Lone said, started coming up after the National Conference took over the power in 1996 when they began issuing the list of over ground workers.

While taking on the BJP, Lone said the saffron party claims of launching crusade against corruption but has not taken any action against Dr Farooq Abdullah in J&K Cricket Association scam. “If I had done something like that I would have been in jail,” he said.

The Peoples Conference leader pointed out that in 1999, Omar Abdullah became the poster boy as the junior foreign minister in the BJP government. “He (Omar) served as the foreign minister, asserting that there was no oppression in Kashmir. Wasn’t he essentially the poster boy of the BJP? His role seemed to be to deny any oppression in Kashmir,” Lone said.

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