There is a 'level of mistrust' in J&K, says Farooq Abdullah upon return from Delhi
Srinagar/New Delhi: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said there was "a level of mistrust" in Jammu and Kashmir and it was for the Centre to remove it, even as his son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demanded restoring Jammu and Kashmir's statehood before holding Assembly polls.
Speaking to reporters upon their return from Delhi after attending an all-party meet convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on J&K, Farooq said he would hold discussions with his party leaders and PAGD constituents before making any further statement on the meeting.
He said the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised plebiscite to the people of J&K but went back on it. He also said before the 1996 elections, the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had promised autonomy to J&K from the floor of the House.
"Narasimha Raoji before elections promised us autonomy and said sky is the limit, but not independence. We said we never asked (for) independence, we have asked for autonomy. He promised us from the floor of the House. Where is that?" Farooq asked.
"There is a level of mistrust…. We should wait and see what they (the Centre) do… Whether they will remove the mistrust or let it continue," he added.
Farooq said even senior Congress leader Karan Singh has called for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before holding elections.
He said that at the Prime Minister's meeting, all invited persons put forth their views. "This was the first step from their side that somehow the situation is improved in Jammu and Kashmir and a political process is restarted," he said, adding he would speak more on the meeting after consulting party members and PAGD leaders.
The Srinagar Lok Sabha MP dismissed suggestions that the June 24 meeting with the Prime Minister signalled the end of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) — a six-party amalgam of mainstream parties formed after the Centre abrogated Article 370 and split Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories in August 2019.
