National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday claimed that New Delhi was ready to provide anything less than freedom to people of Jammu and Kashmir in 1996.
“People of Jammu and Kashmir were promised sky is the Limit in 1996”, Farooq said while campaigning for his party’s Srinagar Lok Sabha candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi at Eidgah in Srinagar on Wednesday.
“At that time New Delhi told us that you ask for anything less than freedom and we are ready to give it, we only made the condition that the special status of Jammu and Kashmir should be given, the rest we do not want anything”, he said and added “On the contrary, the state was deprived of all the privileges that were given in the Constitution of India”.
He said the NC has always guided people of Jammu and Kashmir in the right direction and saved them from the most difficult situations.
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said, “People of Jammu and Kashmir are being targeted on what? What is our fault?.
He said that in 1996, when great leaders were afraid to enter the field, the work culture was gone, the education system was paralyzed, the government machinery was at a standstill, thousands of bridges and buildings were blown up.
“We brought the system of the state on track, introduced the Rehbar Education Scheme so that children could get education within their own villages, built thousands of small and big bridges, built roads and rebuilt thousands of government buildings including schools and colleges. The aim was that the people here get relief and a better and peaceful tomorrow can be laid for the new generation,” he said.
He said that today many people are making tall claims about Jammu and Kashmir and trying to give such an impression that there is nothing here before August 5, 2019.
“People should keep in mind that a lot of sacrifices have been made for development and the biggest sacrifice has been offered by the National Conference”, Farooq said.
