Will Not Betray My Father’s Cause, Says Bilal Lone On Sajjad’s Politics

Srinagar: The elder brother of Peoples Conference leader and BJP ally Sajad Lone is planning to change the name of his party to “end any confusion”. Bilal Lone represents Peoples Conference (PC) in the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

In an interview to the Indian Express, Lone said he will “permanently stay in pro-freedom politics” because that is “the right path” and “the true legacy of his late father Abdul Gani Lone”.

He said he had called a meeting of his people “to take a decision to end this confusion about two PCs”, and that it is for those who comprise the party to decide whether to go with the mainstream or stay with him. “I can tell them my point of view. I can’t force anybody. I have a very strong group of followers who are with me and will hopefully continue to be with me,’’ he said.

“Sajad and I have separated politically a long time ago… For all practical purposes, these are two parties now with two different and distinct political ideologies,” Bilal said.

He said that Sajad had invited him once to also join the mainstream. “He said join me so that together we would be stronger as a political force. I said thanks a lot, I am fine where I am. It was a very brief conversation… He never asked me again.”

Bilal said for him, decisions such as being part of the Hurriyat were a “lifelong commitment”. “My father died for his beliefs and principles, I will try in my way to carry his legacy forward… I am on the right path, the path my father had chosen for himself and his party.”

Joining the Hurriyat was “a good decision”, he said, and “I will always stand by it.”