Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA Pulwama Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra has strongly criticized the National Conference (NC) over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s signature campaign, calling it a futile exercise that only legitimizes the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) actions of August 5, 2019. Speaking to reporters in Kupwara, Parra, as per the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), stated that despite the Valley witnessing a historic 70 percent voter turnout, the people’s mandate was for NC to represent their aspirations in Parliament and at the Centre—not to conduct door-to-door signature drives. “When the case is already in the Supreme Court, what difference will a signature from Pulwama make?” he questioned, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir’s issue is political, not merely administrative.
Parra accused the NC of burying the core issues of statehood and Article 370 restoration under the guise of development agendas like roads and electricity. “NC seems to be working on the BJP-RSS agenda by diverting attention from the August 5 betrayal,” he said, emphasizing that an Assembly resolution condemning the abrogation of Article 370 and demanding full statehood is what the people truly need. He reminded the NC that it had secured a majority after decades, yet failed to amplify the voices of those who sacrificed their lives or are languishing in prisons. “The mandate was to fight for Kashmir’s rights in the Assembly and Parliament, not in villages,” Parra added.
The PDP legislator reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir requires a concrete political resolution, not symbolic campaigns. “We don’t want to create uncertainty, but people deserve an Assembly resolution that can be presented before the Supreme Court. Nothing less will suffice,” Parra stated. He urged the NC to apologize for failing the people’s mandate and to take decisive action where it truly matters—inside the legislative chambers. “The time for empty gestures is over; the people demand action,” he concluded. —(KNO)
