Delina (Baramulla), Sep 12 : In his first public rally after his release from New Delhi’s Tihar jail, Member of Parliament Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, on Thursday said that this is the right time to resolve the Kashmir issue.

He stated that the vote in the Assembly election is not for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Naya Kashmir,” but against the atrocities committed by the government.

Engineer Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party, returned home earlier that morning, and as soon as he exited Srinagar Airport, he went down on his knees and touched his forehead to the ground. He then proceeded to Delina, Baramulla, some 50 km from Srinagar, where he was greeted by young, enthusiastic workers with slogans.

However, the number of supporters was not as large as expected, given that he had received over 5,00,000 votes in the recent parliamentary elections from Baramulla.

Engineer Rashid spoke on various issues, ranging from geopolitics, Article 370, BJP’s “Naya Kashmir” slogan, imprisonments, Kashmir’s problems, elections, and his rival political parties.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi must have realized by now that his slogan of ‘Naya Kashmir’ has completely fallen apart. There wasn’t a ‘new’ Kashmir at all — it was a Kashmir of oppression, a Kashmir of suffering, a Kashmir of calamity, a Kashmir under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act),” Rashid said in his address.

He added that by imprisoning him, Hurriyat leaders, Kashmiri youth, and the legitimate leadership, Kashmiris cannot be suppressed.

“We will avenge all this through votes,” he said.

Rashid noted that while the Prime Minister mediates between countries at war, and holds talks with the Taliban in Doha, Kashmiris were still branded as terrorists.

“You will have to talk to Kashmiris. We did not turn our backs. It is time to talk and resolve the Kashmir issue,” he said.

Rashid emphasized that the votes in the Lok Sabha elections for him were not based on emotion but were against oppression.

“The vote was against his (Modi’s) decisions of August 5, 2019 (when J&K’s special status was scrapped),” he said.

He also criticized PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and NC leader Omar Abdullah for accusing him of being a proxy for the BJP.

“The betrayal by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (PDP founder) was even greater than that of Sheikh Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah, as he (Sayeed) brought the Bharatiya Janata Party to J&K. If Mehbooba had any conscience, she should have apologized to the people for joining hands with the BJP,” MP Rashid said.

Regarding Omar Abdullah, Rashid said that if he had spoken about Kashmiris and Kashmir after the decisions of August 5, 2019, he would not have felt the need to beg for votes.

UNI