Srinagar: Apni Party (AP) president Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari Thursday said that he would continue upholding the politics of truth and honesty even if it did not fetch political gains for his party and would work for peaceful, prosperous and developed J&K.
He said, “Unlike the traditional political parties, the Apni Party does not believe in politics of deceit and duplicity. We will never try to attract people with emotional slogans or false promises. We will only say what we believe in.”
Bukhari was speaking at a massive public rally in Baramulla. According to a press statement issued here, earlier the Apni Party president was given a rousing reception on his arrival at the day-long event at Baramulla. He said, “I am happy to see such a huge public gathering here, as Baramulla is my home district. I thank you for assembling here to listen to us.”
“Such public rallies are the response to those who falsely propagate that AP has no grassroots level public support in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Bukhari said that he and his party had a firm belief in the politics of truth and honesty. He said, “You know that the traditional political parties, over a period of 75 years, have been misleading you by emotional slogans, which eventually brought only miseries and deaths to this place.”
He explained, “These traditional parties befooled people in the name of emotional slogans such as plebiscite, autonomy, self-rule, and so on. They allured people with these exciting slogans just to ensure they remain in power. These political parties and their leaders had made people believe that they were the protectors of Article 370 of the constitution. But finally, the tragedy occurred on August 5, 2019, when this Article was removed. Now the same parties and politicians shamelessly try to fool people again by saying that they will get this Article back.”
Bukhari urged people not to believe deceitful promises by the traditional parties again. “Please do not let these traditional parties deceit you again and again. You have had enough of the politics of lies and deceit over the period of the last 75 years. These so-called leaders have been misleading you just to ensure they remain in power all the time,” he said.
Explaining the Apni Party’s agenda and policies, Bukhari said, “Apni Party is there to work for the peace, prosperity, and the development of Jammu and Kashmir. We have a clear-cut vision and approach to implement our agenda. We do not believe in the politics that would eventually land our youth either in jails or in graveyards. We want to see our young generation prosper.”
He said that if the Apni Party was given the mandate to serve the people, its priority would be to ensure the economic empowerment of the people of J&K.
He said, “Our horticulture industry has a scope to become the backbone of our overall economy, but it faces some issues. For instance, our orchard owners face a huge financial burden to carry fruit to the outside Mandi with refrigerated transport. Our government would subsidize the charges of refrigerated transport by 75 percent. Similarly, we will compensate the orchard owners who lose a few years of their production while transforming the land to enable it for the high-density plantation.”
Bukhari said that J&K had a huge potential for economic empowerment. He said, “Almighty has given us everything that we need for our economic growth and sustained prosperity, but for this, we ought to create a conducive atmosphere to reap the benefits.”
He stressed on the restoration of peace, saying, “Only a peaceful environment will enable us to explore and utilize our God-gifted resources. Investments, which are important for economic growth, come only in a peaceful atmosphere. Peace and tranquillity in this region would also open up new opportunities for employment here.”
Assuring that the Apni Party, “if comes to power, would ensure the political rights of the J&K people are restored”, Bukhari said, “People of J&K do not need to deem themselves helpless or powerless. The Apni Party stands with the people, and we will ensure the protection of the democratic and political rights of the people. We will fight for the restoration of the rights of the majority community, and at the same time we will protect the rights of the minorities as well.”
Reiterating his demand for the release of jailed youth, Apni Party president said, “The youngsters, who are in jails are our kith and kin. The government must ensure that they are given an opportunity to transform their lives for the better. Most of these people might be eagerly awaiting to come out of the prisons, thus the government must release them on the guarantees of their parents and village heads.”
Besides Bukhari, the prominent party leaders who were present in the rally included senior vice president Ghulam Hassan Mir, chairman Parliamentary Committee of the party Mohammad Dilawar Mir, general secretary Rafi Ahmad Mir, general secretary Syed Asgar Ali, party chief spokesperson Javed Hassan Baig, party coordinator for north Kashmir Fazal Mehmood Beigh, youth leader and former MLA Yawar Mir, party’s vice president for the youth wing and DDC member (Tangmarg) advocate Mir Tajamul Ishfaq and general secretary youth wing Muzaffar Reshi.
J&K coordinator Youth Outreach & Capacity Building Programme Tariq Mohiuddin, district president for youth wing Irfan Ali, senior leader Khursheed Khan, district vice president Omer Kakroo, DDC member Ishfaq Ahmad, DDC member Nazir Ahmad, president Municipal Committee Kunzar Abdul Karim, BDC chairman Aftab Ahmad, youth leader Javaid Ahmad, Rafiq Bhat, Mehmood Bukhari, provincial secretary Mir Intikhab, Fazla, Javaid Iqbal besides others were also present.