Abdullah to CentreSrinagar, Oct 29 (PTI) Opposition National Conference(NC) president Farooq Abdullah today said if the Centre wantedto win the hearts of the people of Kashmir, it should restorethe autonomy to the state.
"If we talk about the conditions of the accession andautonomy today, should we be labelled as traitors and anti-nationals? Is this the gift of our loyalty? We acceded to you(India) with love, but you did not understand our love andtook away all that we had. Then you ask, why we do not embraceyou.
"Remember this, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh will notembrace you till you do not try to win the hearts of thepeople. And if you want to win our hearts, then return ourautonomy to us," he said here.
Abdullah was addressing a delegates' session of his partyat the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium here, which took placeafter a gap of over 15 years.
During the session, Abdullah was re-elected as the NCpresident.
The veteran leader said former Union home minister PChidambaram was right in saying that he believed the Centremust consider the areas in which autonomy could be given tothe state of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, he expressed regret over what the Congress partyhad done to the state's autonomy over the years when it was inpower at the Centre.
"I regret what the Congress has done as well. They havetaken away all that was ours. So, please return them now. Whatare you waiting for?" he asked.
Abdullah also criticised Army chief General Bipin Rawatfor his statements on Kashmir.
"The Centre thinks it can crush us with force. Thegeneral (Rawat) says the Army will continue to do its job.
Listen to me General sahab, how many will you kill...How manywill you arrest and put behind bars...We will not be afraid.
Do not think that you will crush our emotions with guns...Youcannot curb what we want," he said.
The people of Kashmir were alive today and would be bealive tomorrow as well, the former chief minister said,adding, "Do not try to browbeat us. The issue of Kashmir is apolitical one and till you do not resolve this politicalissue, peace will not be established (in the state)."Attacking the Centre, he said, "You tell the Amarnathpilgrims not to spend a single penny on shopping in Kashmir asall of us are anti-nationals. We are not anti-national, youare anti-national because you have hurt our hearts. You(Centre) are not our providers, but our provider is god."Maintaining that New Delhi had "used many a tactic" inthe past to curb terrorism in the Valley, Abdullah said, itwas now saying that militancy was alive in Kashmir because ofterror-funding from Pakistan.
"Now they say that money comes from Pakistan and othercountries to keep militancy alive here...They have evenarrested (Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed) Salahuddin's son andgrandson," he added.
The NC chief alleged that the Centre was sending money toKashmir to wipe out his party from the state.
Criticising demonetisation and the implementation of theGoods and Services Tax (GST) in the state, Abdullah said,"They (Centre) said demonetisation would put an end tomilitancy in Jammu and Kashmir, but it has increased."On the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau chiefDineshwar Sharma as the Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir,Abdullah said talks were meaningless till there werestatements calling for the abrogation of Article 370 of theConstitution.
"Talks cannot happen under the barrel of the gun. Theywill happen when your (Centre's) hearts are clean, when youwill not say that you want to abrogate Article 370. Talks aremeaningless till then," he said.
Abdullah also lashed out at BJP national generalsecretary Ram Madhav for his statements on Kashmir withoutpin-pointing any of his remarks. PTI SSB MIJ RC SKRC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.