‘Speak Up, Kashmir!’ PDP Candidate Urges Voters to Break the Silence
‘Kashmir’s silence doesn’t indicate happiness’: PDP’s Srinagar candidate asks voters to ‘send a message to New Delhi’
Emphasising that Kashmir’s silence should not be mistaken for happiness, senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and its candidate from Srinagar, Waheed Parra, has asked people to treat the Lok Sabha elections as a referendum to send a message to New Delhi.
“Don’t treat this election as less than a referendum,” Parra said. “Your vote should become your referendum. There is a need to send a message to New Delhi – that don’t treat the silence of Kashmir as happiness. People are silent but they are not happy with you (New Delhi),” he said while campaigning among the youth in Srinagar.
Parra, who is up against National Conference’s Aga Roohullah and Apni Party’s Mohammad Ashraf Mir, held a series of election meetings in Srinagar, including what were once the separatist hotbeds of Rainawari and Batamaloo.
“It is not about a win or a loss. Can we send a message to New Delhi that we are not happy? Can we tell New Delhi that we have fears about our identity, our land, our jobs, contracts and minerals,” he said. “They (the people of Kashmir) need to be heard and their issues and fears need to be addressed. The biggest assurance needs to come from the Parliament.”
While the Peoples Democratic Party has been maintaining that it would fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status that was abrogated by the Centre in 2019, Parra said there are issues beyond Article 370 too.
“The issue is not what happened on August 5 (2019). The issue is of the entire Kashmir problem,” he said. “We have lost thousands of people. Thousands are in jails, people are buried in graves. Our next generation is slipping out of our hands. On one side a group of people are into drugs and on the other side the young and educated are in depression.”
He urged the youth to take the lead in voting so others in the Valley follow suit.
The Srinagar district, which forms a major part of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, has been traditionally boycotting the elections, heeding calls by separatists. However, a substantial voter turnout is expected in Srinagar city this time.
