‘No doubt in Modi’s statement on ceasefire’
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, July 31: Former Chief Minister and chief of Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), Ghulam Nabi Azad, today said that he may wind up his party as politics in Kashmir is running on emotions.
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Speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of a function, Azad said he has to take a decision on the issue. “I have to decide whether to continue running it (party) or stop because the politics in Kashmir mostly runs on emotions,” he added.
The DPAP chief said that he doesn’t have double standards and can’t say different things at different places.
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“My politics is based on truth and non-violence. I speak the same thing in elections and otherwise, whether in Jammu, Delhi or Srinagar. People may want me to speak different at different places, but I cannot do that,” he added
On senior leaders quitting his party, Azad said that it is a chronic disease as people want to hang on to power.
“There is a chronic disease that when someone becomes a Minister, he wants to remain a Minister till he is alive. So, he hops from one party to another, and he will continue to do that till he becomes Minster. But, those who were not (ministers) and were DDCs, BDCs, there has been a three-fold increase,” he added.
Azad said he has no reason to disbelieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that no foreign leader, including then US President Donald Trump, pressured India for ceasefire with Pakistan.
The DPAP Chief responded to Trump’s earlier claim that he had mediated an India-Pakistan ceasefire. “Unfortunately, Trump says many things, so it is difficult to take him seriously. The Prime Minister clarified on the floor of the House that the ceasefire was India’s own decision and no country interfered. He even spoke to the US Vice President. With that, the chapter is closed,” Azad said.
On the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Azad said the matter should also be considered closed as Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had already taken responsibility for the security lapse. “The LG has already spoken about it and owned responsibility. That chapter is also closed,” he said.
Referring to Operation Mahadev, in which three terrorists allegedly involved in the Pahalgam attack were killed, Azad reiterated his support for counter-terrorism operations. “I have always supported security forces in all operations, even during my tenure as Chief Minister. They had complete freedom. My only condition was that there should be no human rights violations or fake encounters,” he added.
Commenting on opposition protests in Parliament over Prime Minister Modi’s “silence” on Operation Sindoor and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue, Azad said disruptions only help the Government.
“If you don’t allow the House to function, why get elected at all? You are there to raise issues, not to stage walkouts. When the opposition walks out, the government passes bills without resistance,” he said.
Drawing from his experience as Parliamentary Affairs Minister during the UPA era, Azad recalled that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had once advised him not to disrupt others’ speeches. “She told me, ‘You have come to Parliament to speak, not to create a ruckus. You don’t become a leader by silencing others,'” he said.
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