Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and ex-Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday addressed a rally in volatile south Kashmir and appealed to people to “shun militancy and guns”.
“Those nations – from Afghanistan to Iraq to Palestine – that took to guns and militancy saw nothing but destruction. Generations were lost. They don’t exist anymore. I don’t want J&K to witness more bodies of our boys on the streets. Our boys were killed by militants and many died in encounters,” Mr. Azad said, while addressing supporters in Anantnag.
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Mr. Azad, who is touring J&K ahead of the launch of his party, said people need not to fight with a sword or by berating others. “Instead, they can employ the Gandhian style. Gandhi did not use weapons but employed truth and ahimsa,” Mr. Azad said.
He said that during his tenure as J&K Chief Minister “no one faced pellets, did not allow killing of innocents or arrests against money”. “A two-year-old boy and a one-year-old-girl suffered pellet injuries. They were not carrying guns or stones,” said Mr. Azad, in an oblique reference to the tenures of Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Ministers.
Mr. Azad said he ensured that those who were involved in a fake encounter during his tenure were put behind bars for 13 years. “They [security personnel] were local Kashmiri officers. I will ensure that no fake encounter takes place,” Mr. Azad said.
Mr. Azad reiterated that he would not play with religious emotions and win elections. “ Azaadi (independence) could not be achieved. Many elections were contested on autonomy and self-rule. Nothing fruitful came out except dead bodies. Why should I raise such slogans?” he added.
Mr. Azad distanced himself from his earlier statement that Article 370 could not be restored. “I did not say that Article 370 cannot be restored. The one way of getting it restored is by convincing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Let those parties who fight for its restoration convince the PM,” Mr. Azad said.
He questioned those who try to draw parallels between farmers’ agitation and struggle for restoration of Article 370. “Farmers’ laws were not conceived by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. It was not part of the BJP’s agenda for 70 years. Two, if farmers had stopped grains to the government, it would have resulted in a crisis. They could force Mr. Modi to retract laws,” Mr. Azad said.
He warned that those who try to hit a mountain with a head would only see a broken head. “I won’t mislead you,” Mr. Azad said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Azad claimed that militants have threatened to kill him. “In the threat letter, it was said that I met Union Home Minister Amit Shah before visiting J&K. It’s wrong as I did not meet him. I have seen many attempts to attack me in the past. Even if I die, I will die a principled man,” he said.
Mr. Azad said he was “ghulami nabi” (servant of Prophet Muhammed) and “my name is “azad” (free) and ideas are also “azad”.
Meanwhile, the police could not immediately confirm the veracity of the threat poster purportedly posted by The Resistance Front (TRF) militant outfit on social media.
