Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 17: Senior vice president of Peoples Conference and former minister Abdul Gani Vakil cautioned leadership of traditional parties to stop befooling and exploiting people in the name of restoration of Article 370. He said that people know that these parties are the real architects of erosion of the special status and a party to more than 50 amendments over the course of seven decades.
Vakil said that NC-PDP leadership (PAGD), apart from mere rhetoric, has no road map on restoration of Article 370.
“NC want to exploit the people of J&K yet again by projecting themselves as the sole guardians of Kashmir’s special identity while in reality they have time and again compromised on the special status of J&K for the sake of power. By resting the case of Article 370 on the Supreme Court, the NC and PDP (PAGD) is offering no alternate roadmap.
While addressing workers’ meeting at Srinagar today, Vakil asked the traditional leadership as to what happened to their slogans of `Autonomy’ and `Self Rule’ for which they have exploited people for decades for petty political gains to grab power. “Issuing statements from big bungalows will not restore Article 370”, he said.
Vakil said that the PC believes it’s the Parliament and Supreme court which can restore Article 370 for which all the political parties must get united to convince the Parliament and Supreme Court that restoration of Article 370 is in the interest of nation as abrogation has distanced people to larger extent from mainstream.
He said the statements on vote division in Kashmir is an attempt to conceal NC and PDP’s role in dividing votes in Pir Panchal and Chenab belt which directly helps the BJP.
Besides others who addressed the meeting include senior party s leaders Mohammad Sulaiman, Irfan Matoo and Peerzada Ghulam Nabi Shah.