Those who toppled my govt in 2008, silent on BJP’s misadventures in J&K today: GN Azad
Srinagar March 18 : In an exclusive talk with Editor Kashmir News Service Mohammad Aslam Bhat, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) Chairman and former chief minister Jammu & Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad talks on length of issues from Amarnath land row, statehood, elections, development to many other issues. He says when Amarnath land row erupted all regional political parties hit the roads and toppled my government. They held meetings and made issue out of ‘non-issue’ then. But today when BJP snatched every bit from them, why they kept graveyard like silence? Excerpts of the interview:
: You have formed DPAP. What is the aim behind?
Ghulam Nabi Azad (GN Azad): Over one-and-a-half year I am in between my public holding meetings. Since I severed ties with Congress party and formed DPAP, I organized at least 550 public outreach meetings in length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir. I am not among those who show their presence only on the time of elections. In Jammu & Kashmir there are many political parties who remain busy in their businesses in five years and once elections come to near they reach to people and seek votes. But I want to clear that I am not among those politicians. I came to know one thing during my public outreach meetings that people by and large want change, a massive transformation on ground, but there are many political leaders who don’t want people and situation to change. I got wholehearted support of people in public meetings. Political parties exploit people on hoax slogans and people also know these politicians cannot bring change and only exploit people. But I want to break this chain. They destroyed J&K and its people through emotional slogans. Earlier they were talking of Pakistan who is itself on the verge of extinction today. Poverty, inflation, unemployment and uncertainty have badly enveloped the neighboring country. So I want people to see prosperous and developed. I don’t believe in exploitation.
