SRINAGAR, May 23: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Thursday said that if Congress could grant Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir in the past it could also provide the best when it returns to power.
The world is aware that the special status under Article 370 was provided by the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to protect the life and economy of Jammu and Kashmir, Mir told media persons in south Kashmir Thursday.
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Mir said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been beating the drums for the past 10 years on Article 370 and revoked it on August 5, 2019 after getting the mandate.
“When Congress and other secular parties get the mandate, we are having the capacity to provide what would be the best for the people of Jammu and Kashmir after the Congress assumes charge at the Centre,” the former J&K Congress president said.
In reply to a question Mir said that Congress held a meeting of its highest body on August 6, 2019 after the August 5, 2019 decision on Article 370, when it was revoked. He said Congress formulated a resolution and decided to remain at the forefront with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle.
He alleged that Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into a playfield and many experiments were conducted to suppress the people including the youth.
“You know for the past 10 years the situation BJP has created in the whole country and in view of that so many parties had to form INDIA bloc to fight the elections against them,” Mir said.
He said the workers were more interested in holding Assembly elections here and were not sure that Parliament elections would be held in Jammu and Kashmir at first.
“The first target of INDIA alliance is to end the suppression and to return the peace and prosperity to Jammu and Kashmir”, he said and added “for that we must fight the elections (Assembly) with strength so that a comprehensive and strong government could be established in Jammu and Kashmir for the next five years to serve the people”.
The INDIA alliance parties which are sharing power with full strength with each other throughout the country to defeat Modi government to eradicate oppression, to provide justice to the youth, farmers, womenfolk and backward classes, “in the similar spirit when the Assembly elections held after four or five months will also be a challenging elections as no elections were held since 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir”. (Agencies)