Asif Malik
Srinagar, Sep 10 (KNS) The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet minister and senior National Conference leader Javid Rana on Thursday appealed to the people, political parties, civil societies and student leaders of J&K to unite on the statehood issue, asserting that the party cannot achieve it on its own as the National Conference was feeling "lonely" in its battle for the restoration of statehood.
In an interview with news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS), Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Tribal Affairs Javid Rana, questioned whether statehood was the sole responsibility of the National Conference.
"I would like to clear one thing for the people of J&K through this channel. Is the statehood of J&K only in the hands of the National Conference? Don't the people of J&K want statehood? Are the different political parties here, the people of J&K, the civil societies here, or other organizations? I think this is an issue at the national level," he said.
"You will think that only the National Conference will raise a voice, only the leadership of the National Conference, the Chief Minister will raise a voice and get the state. As far as we are concerned, we are fighting for the state. We have also fought legally, we have gone to the Supreme Court. And we are also fighting politically. And our fight will continue in the future. But I think we are lonely in this regard. We feel lonely. We are not getting the support we should have. We should have got the support of the people of J&K," minister Rana said.
He said the party had not received the backing it expected. "We did not get it from J&K. So, through your channel, I would like to tell the people of J&K, our civil societies, student leaders, our legal fraternities, our leaders, our political parties — I would like to appeal to all of them that until they do not come to the platform with this agenda, it is very difficult for J&K to get the state."
Listing the National Conference-led government's efforts, Rana said, "As far as support is concerned, we are fighting. As soon as the honourable Chief Minister took over the chair of the Chief Minister, he passed a resolution in the first cabinet to remind the Government of India.
Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelWe sent a resolution from here. The Assembly sent it. And the honourable Chief Minister, I have recently met the Home Minister. Whenever the Prime Minister has come here, we have talked about the state. We met the honourable Chief Minister in Delhi. We talked about the state."
"So, what I mean to say is that we have talked at every stage. We have talked politically, we have talked legally, we have talked in every way. And now we want that, if we are feeling lonely in this struggle, that should not have happened," he said.
Drawing a parallel with the Telangana statehood movement, minister Rana said, "You must have seen, I have mentioned this many times, that when Jharkhand, when the state of Hyderabad was separated, there was a place called Telangana. We had a tour there. The MLA was there. When we reached there, I saw that at the railway station, at the airport, in the police station, in the bus stand, in the hotel, in the rickshaw, in the washroom, in the barber shop, every person was chanting Telangana, Telangana, Telangana, Telangana."
"So, I told my colleagues that the people of Telangana state will take it. So, they said, how will they take it? I said, this is the voice of every person. The students here, the children here, women, men and women. There was Friday prayer in the mosque, we went to offer prayers. So, we met the people there. So, Telangana, Telangana. Hindus, Muslims, everyone, Telangana, Telangana," he said.
"Tell me, the status of Jammu and Kashmir state, you have divided it between Hindus and Muslims. Why are BJP not talking about the state? We are protesting for the state in Delhi. So, the Jammu and Kashmir government, they said, we will surround the government from here," minister Rana alleged.
"So, here, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir state, I think, they have made it Hindu-Muslim. If we talk about it, we will be declared anti-national. So, I would say, the people of Jammu and Kashmir need to come to a platform for this, and get the state of Jammu and Kashmir back," he said. (KNS)
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