Ready to support INDIA bloc if it promises to restore Art 370: Rashid
Lok Sabha MP and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief Engineer Rashid on Thursday said he would support INDIA bloc candidates in the J&K Assembly elections if they promise to restore Article 370 whenever they form the government at the Centre.
“Omar’s agenda is to restore Article 370…If the INDIA bloc gives me an assurance that it will restore Article 370 whenever it comes to power in Delhi, my each vote will go to their candidates,” Rashid told reporters in Srinagar after addressing a rally in North Kashmir’s Baramulla from where he was elected MP in the Lok Sabha elections while he was in jail.
Rashid, who was granted interim bail earlier this week by a Delhi court for campaigning in the Assembly elections, came out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday.
To a question, if he would support the BJP in case of a post-poll alliance, Rashid said he would talk to the BJP if Prime Minister Narendra Modi resolves the Kashmir issue.
“I was kept in Tihar jail for five years. My aunt died and I was not granted parole. How is it possible that I will join hands with them (BJP),” he said.
He said: “Yes, if PM Modi resolves the Kashmir issue and takes sincere efforts taking all stakeholders on board, then obviously we will hold talks.”
The firebrand leader also stated that if India had to achieve the dream of being a global power, it would have to address the Kashmir issue. He said neither he was a Pakistan agent nor India’s enemy.
Hours before addressing the media, Rashid landed in Srinagar in the morning and bowed to the ground. He then travelled to Baramulla district in North Kashmir to address the first public rally. On way to North Kashmir, he met people and waved at them from his car.
Inside the school ground in Baramulla’s Delina, where the poll rally was held, a few thousand of his supporters, especially youth, were waiting for him since morning. When he reached there, they started raising slogans in his favour.
In his speech, Rashid talked about the need to resolve the Kashmir issue and end to imprisoning Kashmiri youth to Tihar Jail. He also lashed out at leaders such as Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
The first rally was, however, not as big as it was expected. Most of the people in the rally had come from his native Kupwara district.
“Rashid is our leader and we are here to welcome him,” said Ali Mohammad from Kupwara district. He, however, accepted that the crowd was less. “AIP is a people’s party. Those who attended the rally spent money from their own pocket to reach here. Rashid’s rallies will attract a huge crowd in the coming days,” he said.
