Centre will take positive decision on J&K statehood: Altaf Bukhari

Srinagar, Aug 28: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party president Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday expressed hope that the Centre would take a positive decision on restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, while accusing the present government in the Union Territory of failing to deliver for the people.
Talking to reporters, Bukhari said his party was directly engaging with the Central Government on the issue of statehood and hoped that its concerns would be heard.
“We hope that our voice will reach there and God willing, something will come out of it,” Bukhari said, adding that the Central Government had been occupied with elections over the past several months
He said the Centre would now have to pay attention to Jammu and Kashmir, particularly as, according to him, the elected government had not been able to do much for the people.
Bukhari said the Central Government had perhaps expected elections to address the emotional issues of the people, but claimed that this approach had not produced the desired outcome.
“We hope that Government of India will think about this issue carefully and come up with something positive,” he said.
On National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi’s differences with his party leadership, Bukhari described the matter as an internal issue of the National Conference.
“As long as Aga Syed Rahullah is in that party, this is a family issue,” he said, adding that he did not want to comment on the internal affairs of another party.
Taking aim at the Congress party’s role in Jammu and Kashmir politics, Bukhari alleged that Congress had depended on other political forces in the region since Independence.
“Congress has been running on the backs of us since 1947,” he said.
Bukhari further alleged that Congress was responsible for weakening Article 370, saying, “If someone made 370 hollow, it was done by Congress.”
On the functioning of the opposition and government, Bukhari said both were essential components of a democratic system and should work within the same framework.
“In democracy, the opposition and the government are part of the same system. They work in tandem with each other. And that is how democracy flourishes,” he said.
He, however, accused political opponents of resorting to character assassination against those who, according to him, attempted to make people understand the ground realities.
Bukhari also claimed that no government in Jammu and Kashmir had functioned without the support or influence of the Central Government since 1947.
“In J&K, no government has been running without the support of the Central Government since 1947. This is the truth. Everything has been run by the Central Government,” he said. [KNT]