SRINAGAR: National Conference president and three-time former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s biggest mistake was not making the Election Commission completely autonomous.
“If the EC had been autonomous, we would not be in this situation today,” Abdullah said.
Asserting that India is not dead but alive, Abdullah said winds of change had started in the country.
“The biggest mistake of Nehru's administration was that the Election Commission should have been totally autonomous. We are suffering today. If the Election Commission had been autonomous, we would not be in this situation today,” Abdullah told a media conclave in Srinagar today when asked about the ongoing row involving Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Taking a dig at the Modi government, he said, “They kept two members of the government and an opposition leader in a three-member committee for selecting the Election Commissioner. When the majority will be on one side, what will the opposition leader do? By majority decision, Modi made his secretary the CEC, who is totally working for the BJP and it has been proven.”
“Everybody knew what EC was doing. Even before the media report, people knew about it. When they removed people from the vote, they said we will look into it in the next election. When the constitution of India gives you the right as an Indian citizen to vote, no one has the right to remove him from the list,” he asserted and hit out at CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
“They removed voters. They selectively removed all the Muslims from the list. Even a noted lawyer, Kapil Sibal was removed from the voter list. Their objective was that we have to live here and we have to rule forever and for that we need people who will help us,” he alleged.
The opposition India Bloc is demanding resignation of CEC for deleting crores of voters from the voter list on the behest of BJP.
Abdullah said that those in power forget that they are bound to abide by the Constitution framed by Dr B.R. Ambedkar. “But, thanks to the Almighty, political parties are now not ready to accept it. Recently, a strong protest was held in Mumbai, and another protest was held in Delhi yesterday”.
According to the NC president, winds of change have started to blow in the country and that the spirit of India remains very much alive.
"Courage is beginning to emerge among our people. Change will come. I am telling you, whether I am alive or dead, change is on the way. That wind has started blowing whereby people's authority will again emerge. It is people that form this country from north to south and east to West and it is these people, who will make India great,” he said.
“India is not dead but alive,” he added.
