Awami Ittehad Party fighting polls to represent J-K people: Engineer Rashid

PTI Srinagar: Lok Sabha MP Abdul Rashid has said his Awami Ittehad Party was contesting the upcoming Assembly polls not for power but to give true representation to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview with PTI here, Baramulla MP Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, said the people of Kashmir were neither enemies of India nor agents of Pakistan and asserted that they cannot be herded like cattle. “Government formation and alliances do not matter to me and my party. I am here to provide true representation to the people, especially in the aftermath of whatever happened on August 5, 2019 (abrogation of Article 370).

“People are identifying with the agenda of the Awami Ittehad Party and it was evident from the results in north Kashmir Lok Sabha elections,” Rashid, who was released by a court on interim bail last week, told PTI. The MP said the unprecedented voter turnout in the Lok Sabha polls across Kashmir valley was a verdict against the August 5 move of the Centre to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. “The people of Kashmir have spoken and spoken very loud and clear. It is now the duty of the politician to be true representatives of this sentiment that was expressed through ballot and that is where we step in,” he said. The AIP supremo said his party will strive to restore the special provisions of the constitution in respect of Jammu and Kashmir and they were willing to take all lawful and democratic steps in this regard.

“The end word in a democratic set-up is the verdict of the people. We are before them and it is their turn to speak through their votes,” he said. Rashid said he would not hesitate to take to the streets for a peaceful protest to demand restoration of Article 370. The Lok Sabha MP expressed hope that he will get regular bail so that he can represent the people of his constituency in Parliament. “I have been an MLA for two terms and probably have the distinction of being marshalled out the most because I speak the truth.

I raise the issues of the people. I hope it is not repeated with me in Parliament and that they will allow me to speak for my people,” he said. The firebrand politician, who is facing charges of terror funding, said the unfortunate part of the Kashmir issue was that people here have been labelled as either enemies of India or agents of Pakistan. “I want to tell everyone that we are not enemies of India and we are also not agents of Pakistan. People of Kashmir are not cattle that can be herded to one side or the other,” he said.