Ghulam Nabi Azad voted for removal of Article 370 along with BJP: Altaf Bukhari
The Hindu
Apni Party chief to put pressure on Centre to restore statehood to the Union Territory ahead of Assembly polls
J&K Apni Party chairman Altaf Bukhari on Friday took potshots at former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and pledged to put pressure on the Centre to restore statehood to the Union Territory ahead of the Assembly elections.
“Azad sahib may have defended Article 370 inside the Parliament on August 5, 2019, delivered emotional speech, cursed to the extent he was allowed and even torn some buttons of his shirt but the fact is Azad sahib voted for the removal of Article 370 along with the BJP,” Mr. Bukhari alleged, during a press conference.
He accused Mr. Azad, who is mulling to launch a new political outfit, of playing “an important role in removal of Article 370, when he was the Leader of the Opposition.”
“The BJP did not have numbers in the Rajya Sabha, thus it was not capable to pass the abrogation of these laws. But Azad Sahib, who was the Leader of the Opposition at that time, chose to give his and his party colleagues’ vote in favour of the BJP’s move to abrogate [special provisions] of these Articles,” Mr. Bukhari said.
He urged the former Congress leader not to allure Kashmiri youth with emotional slogans about Article 370 and 35A for his political and personal gains.
“I would request him not to exploit Kashmiri youth by deceptive slogans, which suggest that you are going to restore pre-August 5, 2019, the situation here. Such deceptive claims would make our youth emotional and push them to a situation wherein many of them end up landing in graveyards. We have had enough of killings and bloodshed here, please stop playing with the emotions of our youngsters,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bukhari, who launched a new regional party in 2020 after Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was abolished, said the party had decided to make a formal demand for the restoration of statehood and would seek an appointment with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) has been chosen, along with IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, and IISc. Bengaluru, to establish centres of excellence (CoE) by the Wadhwani Foundation in Bioengineering and Biotechnology with a funding support of $1 million annually.
Will fight on public issues after the NDA allies’ ‘honeymoon period’ is over, says Jagan Mohan Reddy
Will fight on public issues after the NDA allies’ ‘honeymoon period’ is over, says Jagan Mohan Reddy. Advising YSRCP cadre not be dejected about the electoral defeat, he says the party will rise again. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will pay the price for not insisting on SCS for the State despite having bargaining power in Lok Sabha with an impressive tally of 16 MPs.