“Govt of Congress, National Conference will be formed”: NC candidate from Jammu North Ajay Sadhotra

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 27 (ANI): Ajay Sadhotra, who is the National Conference’s candidate for Jammu North, said on Thursday that the government of the Congress and NC will be formed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the blessings of the people.

Speaking with ANI, Sadhotra said, “With the blessings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the government of Congress and the National Conference will be formed here…”

He criticised the BJP for lying to the people of J-K and said that both Congress and NC work for the betterment of J-K people, focussing on employment generation and on their education.

“Either they (BJP) have not read the manifesto or they are lying to the people. I request their leaders to read the manifesto and then talk…We talk about employment, we have to save people’s land, we have to save people’s education. Congress and National Conference talk about people…,” said Sadhotra.

He also spoke on the issue of Shankaracharya Hill and informed that there is “no proposal to change the name” of Shankaracharya Hill.

Historically, the hills where the Shankaracharya Temple is situated have been known as the Shankaracharya Hill and Hariparbat, however, back in 2013, a major protest erupted in Srinagar after it was alleged that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) renamed Shankaracharya Hill to ‘Takht-e-Suleman’. The displaced Kashmiri Pandits alleged that the ASI has distorted the history of the ancient Hindu monument.

Meanwhile, reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks that the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance would “follow the agenda of Pakistan,” NC Vice President Omar Abdullah on Thursday countered that the party would have pursued such an agenda 35 years ago if that were the case.

“We don’t expect anything more from the BJP. The National Conference is an organization that has made thousands of sacrifices over the last 35 years. If we had to follow Pakistan’s agenda, we would have done so 35 years ago. Perhaps then, my more than 4,500 companions would not have been sacrificed,” Abdullah said while speaking to reporters in Kupwara.

“If Union Home Minister Amit Shah wants to ignore the sacrifices made by the National Conference, what can I do about it?” he added.

Earlier in the day, while addressing a rally in Udhampur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the National Conference-Congress alliance, alleging that it would impose Pakistan’s agenda if elected to power.

“You will all vote not just for Chenani but make a decision for the entire J-K. After independence, it is for the first time that an election is held here where there is no Article 370 or a separate flag…NC and Rahul Baba say that we will bring back Article 370, but I want to tell them that neither you nor the three generations of yours will be able to bring back Article 370,” Amit Shah said.

He further attacked three families–‘Gandhis”, ‘Muftis’ and ‘Abdhullas’ in his address and said that the families only gave tickets to their own people.

“The three families have given tickets to their own people and made only 87 MLA. But we made more than 30,000 Panch, Sarpanch and Tehsil Panchayats… The river of corruption that they started was cleaned by Prime Minister Modi from the bottom,” Amit Shah said.

NC Vice President Omar Abdullah will address three public rallies in the Jammu region on Friday.

As part of his extensive campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections, which will take place in Udhampur East, Vijaypur, and Jammu North constituencies, where the former Chief Minister will outline the party’s vision and commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the party said in a statement on Thursday.

The second phase of J-K Assembly polls was held on September 25. The third and final phase of voting will take place on October 1, while the counting of votes will be held on October 8. Assembly elections are being held in the Union Territory nearly a decade after the last polls and are the first since the abrogation of Article 370.