In a statement, Rasheed said it is “shameful” that rather asking PM Modi not to touch Article 35-A, CM should have told him that Kashmiris are not fighting for rights within Indian constitution but are seeking a permanent resolution to the dispute.
“By talking about accommodating the idea of J&K in Idea of India she is forgetting the fact that New Delhi by its proxies and taking Supreme Court route is trying to bring Kashmiris to the back foot and also intends to bargain for the final resolution of J&K. Though nobody is opposing her defending Article 35-A but she should have told PM that the battle is much bigger than preserving Article 35-A.”
Rasheed ridiculed Mehbooba’s claim that J&K is India’s crown and said that J&K is by no means India’s integral part of India but a disputed territory. “By calling J&K India’s crown Mehbooba has been very unfair to the people of the state and also to the historical facts and has insulted the huge sacrifices offered by people of J&K for the right to self-determination. Her claim that people of J&K have rejected two nation theory in 1947 is a distortion of facts, misleading and denying the truth as people of the state never acceded to India, neither was their opinion sought through right to self-determination till date.”
Rasheed asked Mehbooba to either talk with confidence, courage, facts, and sincerity or break alliance with the BJP as it has given Sang Parivar an upper hand in destroying and misleading the facts about the J&K dispute.