Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 29: Former minister and senior National Conference leader Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today slammed the BJP for orchestrating a smear campaign against Dr Farooq Abdullah by creating a smoke screen over his nationalistic credentials, saying the recent affirmation by Kerela Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan about the stand taken by the former Chief Minister in 1989 opposing the release of terrorists in exchange of Rubya Sayeed should serve as an eye opener to them.
In a prèss statement here Sadhotra said the stand taken by Dr Farooq Abdullah was candidly acknowledged by Khan, a Minister in the then VP Singh government supported by the BJP, who had been deputed as emissary to end the kidnapping crisis involving the daughter of the then Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
Sadhotra asked the BJP to shun the propaganda against the National Conference and the former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and have some sort of introspection. He said the falsehood being furthered by the BJP speaks of the frustration ahead of the ensuing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. They are terribly afraid of the popularity of the National Conference, which is a mass movement in every nook and corner of the state and represents the urges and aspirations of every segment of the society in all the regions and the sub-regions, he added.
The former minister said that the National Conference leadership has stood like a rock against the interests of all segments of the people, including the migrant Kashmiri Pandit community, which has been let down by the BJP during the past seven and half years. Instead of ensuring their safe and dignified return back to their homes, the saffron party is indulging in a misinformation campaign to malign Farooq Abdullah.
He said the measures taken by the successive National Conference Governments have taken path breaking initiatives to minimize the miseries of the displaced community apart from ensuring holistic development and progress across Jammu and Kashmir.
Sadhotra reiterated the demand for constitution of Truth & Reconciliation Commission to look into the circumstances of the migration of Kashmiri Pandits and said this will bring out the truth, as has been spoken by Arif Mohammed Khan. The Commission will unveil the miseries of every segment of the society including Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs during the turbulent times of the nineties.
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