Srinagar;16.4.2018 Senior leader and former parliamentarian, Dr. Mehboob Beg has come-out with a point-by-point rebuttal to the issues recently raised by National Conference President and Vice President. It is important that the people of the state are given the correct facts and that history is not distorted. We have had various issues raised by the National Conference leadership during their recent media interactions and public rallies, which do not find much corroboration in history and most of them are not factually correct either, it is essential that the correct facts as well as a correct account of the historical events is put before the people, said Dr.Beg.
To seek to establish an impression that militancy in the valley had been controlled and has suddenly seen a rise is not the correct picture to portray. Parties have come and gone out of power, however, militancy has remained a constant and is directly connected with the ‘political resolution’ of the Kashmir issue. We have seen ups and downs in this regard, but the problem has remained. Those questioning the implementation of Agenda of Alliance must first answer why they squandered-away the golden opportunity given to them in 1996. Dr.Farooq Abdullah had a two-third majority in 1996, the people of the State had given him the complete authority to dictate terms to the Union government, what happened then? Did it even once occur to Dr.Abdullah that he could change the course of Kashmir’s history, that he could play the hard ball, that he could seek certain assurances from the Central government before agreeing to take oath? In comparison, the mandate given to the PDP in 2014 was by no means an absolute mandate, it was far from it. Yet, the PDP leadership was able to chart-out the Agenda of Alliance, ensuring that the all-powerful central government signed on a document that ensured no tampering with the special status enjoyed by the people of the State. The BJP had an intent to deceive is another matter, that Mehbooba Mufti was unflinching in her pro-people stand, to the utter inconvenience of Modi-Shah duo has been time and again accepted by Amit Shah and Ram Madhav, remarked Dr.Beg.
While the National Conference leadership has been asking questions left, right and centre, I would like to pose a few questions of my own, said Dr.Beg. Dr. Beg asked as to why Sheikh Sahab hurriedly took-over as the Chief Minister when Beg Sahab (Fakhr-e-Kashmir) had made-out a case that Sheikh Sahab should take over as ‘Prime Minister’ of the State, a title befitting the status of the Supreme leader of Kashmir? Sheikh Sahab openly asked Beg Sahab not to raise the issue and cause hurdles to Indira Gandhi, why so? Beg-Parthasarthi talks mentioned that since the parties did not agree on many issues, they will revert to the ‘principal parties’ (Sheikh Sahab and Indira Gandhi), what happened then? What happened to the committee (headed by D.D Thakur, after Beg Sahab was asked to resign) formed to review the laws made applicable to J&K (post 1953)? Answers to all these questions are mandatory for us to get a clear perspective of Kashmir’s history and to know who played what role, said the former Parliamentarian.
