Struggle of people of J&K not for restoration of statehood but for its special status: Soz

Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Prof Saifuddin Soz on Thursday said that contrary to the confusion being created by certain quarters, the struggle of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was not for restoration of statehood but for its special status enshrined under the now-abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

In a press statement, he also said that, “At the present juncture when the Central govt. is doing everything to alienate the people of Kashmir, the togetherness of the Kashmir mainstream parties is a welcome measure”.

Here is the full text of the statement:

I want to reiterate my position on the prevailing political situation in Kashmir.

What I had said earlier was that while any political party is entitled to withdraw from the alliance and promote the party, the alliance could serve the best purpose if all mainstream parties were to support it as a common cause and purpose.

At the present juncture when the Central govt. is doing everything to alienate the people of Kashmir, the togetherness of the Kashmir mainstream parties is a welcome measure.

In my opinion, there is no conflict of interests among the Kashmir mainstream parties and the Kashmir political class seems to be conscious of the fact that what really matters at this critical juncture is the togetherness of Kashmir political mainstream parties.

The writing on the wall is clear. While mainstream political parties can maintain their individuality, they should determine and maintain their togetherness for a common goal.

Meanwhile certain people are creating confusion by supporting the restoration of statehood. These people are deliberately diverting the attention of the people of Kashmir from their struggle for the restoration of the state’s special status enshrined under now abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. The people of Kashmir know that they have a cause and the cause needs the struggle!

It is the struggle that matters and people of Kashmir are conscious of this aspect of politics.