Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 11: The senior National Conference leader and former MP, Dr Mehboob Beg, today warned his party that verdict of the Parliamentary elections will be repeated in Assembly elections as the party failed to learn lessons from last month’s defeat.
While addressing a party rally at Sarnal, Anantnag to commemorate the death anniversary of his father and one of the founders of the NC, Mirza Afzal Beg, the NC leader said: “16th May will be repeated. Don’t mislead Omar Sahib. Nothing has changed. Don’t tell him that all is right, nothing is right. We have been defeated on 39 seats out 44 in Kashmir valley.”
Beg said that the NC has been wiped out in Kashmir valley as people in general and youth in particular are angry with the party. “Last time we won Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and even Jammu and Ladakh. Now the National Conference has been wiped out, completely wiped out, from Pahalgam to Uri. We may not open our eyes, close them and hide our heads in the sand like ostrich, will it change the reality. If we will not tell reality to Omar Sahib, will it change reality? If the things are not brought under control, history will repeat itself. The result which you saw on 16th (May) it will be repeated in October and November, you should remember it.”
The former MP said that the NC should have acted on war footing to rectify the mistakes and changed its attitude but it has not. “If NC will not change its attitude, change its approach and rectify its mistakes, these can be rectified, but the time is very short. The examination is three months away and the action should have been started by now. It is big disease, the treatment should have been started by now but it has not happened so far. I don’t see it anywhere. You have to rectify wrongs and no time is left now. You have to take action now”, he said.
Beg targeted Omar Abdullah for lack of development in Anantnag. “Omar Sahib, tell me what you have done for people of Anantnag during these years. Tell me a single big thing he has done for the people of the Anantnag. We don’t have any Medical College, hospital or University. I will fight the Assembly elections and will win it. I have the legacy of Fakhri Kashmir (Mirza Afzal Beg) just like they have that of Sher-e-Kashmir”, he added. He said that it was his father who gave land to the tiller and this is among the contributions on which NC is capitalizing still.
“The Deputy Commissioner (Anantnag) made Dr Farooq Abdullah, three time Chief Minister, to sit in his office for 2 and a half hours when I filed nomination papers. It amounts to pulling the ear of Union Home Minister. The DC is still there, how can things change?” the NC leader asked.
“You should keep in mind when the storm comes it reaches Charar-e-Sharief and Kangan as well. The storm erupts from Anantnag and PDP emerged from here, now it reached Srinagar and Baramulla because river Jhelum flows from Anantnag only.
“We had told them that times have changed and Baramulla and Srinagar took time. They did the same thing which you did in 2008. They did it right, if I won’t rectify my mistakes, you have to pull my ear and who else will do it. If you won’t tell me these things, how will we march forward”, said Beg.
The NC leader said that times have now changed and people vote for those who work for the betterment of the people. “It was Sheikh Abdullah and Afzal Beg who were telling people to vote for an electric pole and they were voting. The times have changed now and today politicians have to work, if they don’t, people won’t vote for them. Today party mandate is given to Mehboob Beg and Omar Abdullah and they lose. It is people who give us mandate and people are my strength”, he added.
Beg said that NC’s monopoly is over as people have now an alternative political party. “If we don’t rectify our mistakes, if we don’t change, Kashmiris have an alternative, they have another shop.”
The NC leader dismissed the theory projected by some NC leaders that its candidates lost elections in Kashmir valley due to cross voting by Congress. “You are saying that we lost elections because of Congress, tell me where are your own vote?” he asked.
Beg targeted Rather for neglecting Anantnag and employing youth from his constituency in Jammu and Kashmir Bank. “In Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Abdul Rahim Rather has employed all the people from Charar-e-Sharif. No one is unemployed in Charar-e-Sharif now. If Charar can save NC, let them do it. If youth of Charar-e-Sharif are getting jobs let them get but people from Anantnag, Dooru, Kokernag, Pahalgam and Bijbehera should also get jobs’, he added.
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